Hope Opener! The Mets play their first game of 2011 in Queens this afternoon after a successful road trip. Yes, it is a little disappointing that the Mets lost the last two games but overall, going .500 on the road was a big step forward for this ball club. Last year the Mets were a much better team at home than on the road (which is more of a statement of how bad they were on the road). The Mets get to face off with the Nationals for their first of 81 games at Citi Field.
Dickey will get his second start of the year tonight. He had an interesting game against the Marlins earlier this week where he was a mix of effective where it counts, and was able to squeeze out of his moments of ineffectiveness. He pitched 6 innings allowing 0 earned runs (1 run total), 5 hits, 3 BB while striking out 7. Last season he was 1-0 against the Nationals pitching in 4 games (3 starts) over 20.0 innings with a 1.80 ERA. The Nationals have these numbers against Robert Allen:
Werth 3-11, 2B, HR
Stairs 5-11, 3B, HR
Zimmerman 1-8
Desmond 1-7
Espinosa 0-3
One of the young pitching stars for the Nationals gets the start today in Jordan Zimmermann. In his first game this year he pitched 6.0 innings allowing 3 runs total, 2 earned over 4 hits, 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. He pitched two games against the Mets last season totaling 10 innings with a 1.80 ERA. In his career he has pitched 20.1 innings against the Mets with a 3.54 ERA. The Mets have these numbers against Jordan:
Pagan 3-9
Wright 1-7
Murphy 2-6, HR
Reyes 1-5
Davis 1-2, HR
Thole 2-3
Lets Go Mets!
