213 Miles From Shea

Last night was rough. The Mets led the game at one point 5-1 but had a meltdown in the top of the 6th where they allowed 5 runs to score. They were able to tie the game in the bottom frame and pull the game to extras. The umpiring was also pretty crappy but attributing it to umpiring never feels right. Today the Mets will try to take the series from the fish, end the homestand strong and improve to 3 games over .500 again. Tom Koehler gets the start for the Marlins as he faces off against Dillon Gee.

Dillon Gee is 1-1 over 5 starts, 32.2 innings with a 3.58 ERA. In his last two starts, where he has made both of his decisions on the year, he has pitched 13.2 innings, allowing 2 ER, 9 hits, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. Last year he made two starts against the Marlins where he allowed 4 earned runs over 12.1 innings, an ERA of 2.91. The Marlins have the following numbers against Gee:

• G Jones 4-13, 2B
• Stanton 1-7, HR
• Solano 1-6
• Dobbs 2-5, HR
• R Johnson 1-3, 2B
• McGehee 1-3, 2B

The Mets bats will get a look at Tom Koehler who is off to a career start with a 2.13 ERA over 4 games and 25.1 innings of work. (As compared to last year’s 4.41 ERA in 143.0 innings and the year before where he had an ERA above 5). In three of his four starts this year he has allowed exactly 2 earned runs and one start he has shutout his opponent and in each start he went at least 6 innings. He was tremendous against the Mets last year with an ERA of 1.50 over 24.5 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Murphy 4-11, HR
• Tejada 2-9, 2B
• Wright 2-8, 2B
• Duda 0-7
• Quintanilla 1-5
• E Young 1-6, 2B
• d’Arnaud 0-3
• Recker 0-3

Lets Go Mets!

The 2014 Mets figured out another way to get it done last night and beat the Marlins in the bottom of the ninth with Curtis Granderson having the walk-off RBI for the second time in a week. The game last night followed the majority of the Mets season, great starting pitching, not a lot of hitting and squeaking by at the end. Wins are wins and the Mets are now three games above .500 and are in great position to take the series with at least one more win in the next two games. Tonight Jenrry Mejia gets the start as he goes up against Kevin Slowey.

Mejia is 3-0 over 4 starts this season with a 1.99 ERA over 22.2 innings, 14 BB and 25 strikeouts. He is coming off back to back shutout performances where he has pitched a total of 11.2 innings, 6 hits, 5 walks and 10 strikeouts. He made one start against the Marlins last year allowing 3 ER over 6 innings, walking one and striking out 4. The Marlins have the following numbers against Jenrry:

• G Jones 0-3
• Solano 1-3
• Stanton 0-1, BB
• Yelich 2-3, 2B
• Alvarez 2-2 (Last Night’s SP)
• Baker 0-1
• Dobbs 0-1

Kevin Slowey has pitched in 5 games and one start this season with a 4.15 ERA over 17.1 innings, 4 BB, and 10 K. His last outing was his first start of the year. Against the Mariners on the 20th he pitched 5.0 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 earned runs. Last season he was 3-6 for the Marlins with a 4.11 ERA over 20 games and 14 starts. Against the Mets last year he was 1-0 with a 3.26 ERA over 3 games and 2 starts over 19.1 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Kevin:

• Abreu 7-18, 2B, 3 HR
• Granderson 6-16, 3 2B, HR
• Wright 6-12, 2B, HR
• Murphy 1-9, 2B
• Duda 3-8, 2B, HR
• Quintanilla 3-6, HR
• Tejada 1-5, 2B
• Recker 0-2

Lets Go Mets!

Only three games left on the 10 game homestand! The Mets played well and took 3 of 4 games from the Cardinals this week to go into the weekend two games above .500 and now the Marlins come to town. There are a few notable similarities between the two teams. First, as of late, the Mets and Marlins have been playing well. Second, the Mets struggle at home. The Marlins struggle on the road. Zack Wheeler looks to keep the streak going against the Marlins as he squares up against Henderson Alvarez.

Wheeler is 1-2 over 4 starts this season with a 4.63 ERA over 23.1 innings walking 8 and striking out 21 batters. In his last two starts here has tossed 12.1 innings with a 3.65 ERA, 6 walks and 9 strikeouts. Last year he faced the Marlins once where he pitched a no decision allowing 2 runs, 3 hits over 7.0 innings while walking 3 and striking out 5. The Marlins have the following numbers against Wheeler:

• Hechavarria 0-3
• Johnson 1-3, 2B
• Mathis 0-3
• Solano 1-3
• Stanton 0-2
• Yelich 0-3

Henderson Alvarez is 1-2 over 4 starts with 2.66 ERA and 23.2 innings of work while walking 7 and striking out 14. Alvarez is coming off of a gem complete game shutout where he walked no one, allowed 2 hits and walked 4. He was also great against the Mets where he was 2-0 over 1.26 ERA pitching 14.1 innings allowing 10 hits, 2 ER, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. The Mets have the following numbers against him:

• Granderson 3-12, 2B
• Murphy 1-9
• E Young 1-6, 3B
• Duda 1-6
• Wright 2-6, 2B
• Abreu 1-3
• d’Arnaud 1-3

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets might have struck out a ton last night but it doesn’t matter too much as the Mets picked up the W. Now the Mets are in a position to end their gauntlet run to start the season with at worst a .500 record and at best, two games above .500. Today Lance Lynn looks to split the series for the Cards as Colon looks to win the series for the Mets.

Colon’s last start was on Saturday where he allowed 3 ER over 7 innings of work which was a nice bounce back from his 9 ER over 5 innings in his previous start. On the season he is 1-3 over 25.0 innings and 4 games with a 5.40 ERA while allowing 34 hits, walking only 3 batters and striking out 18. Last year he tossed a gem against the Cards allowing one earned run over 8 innings while walking one and striking out 5. The Cards have the following numbers against Colon:

• Ellis 3-15, 2B
• Peralta 2-11
• Bourjos 2-6
• Holliday 3-5, 2B
• Carpenter 2-4
• Molina 0-4

Lance Lynn is 4-0 over his four starts this year with a 3.42 ERA over 23.2 innings of work. In that space he has walked 7 batters, allowed 3 homers and struck out 27. He is in a strong stretch that has seen him pitch 12.2 innings in two starts allowing 1 run, walking 6 and striking out 16. Last year he picked up the win against the Mets allowing 3 ER over 7 innings while walking 5 and striking out 7. The Mets have the following numbers against Lynn:

• Murphy 4-9, 2B
• Wright 2-7, 2B
• Duda 0-5
• Abreu 0-2
• Tejada 0-3

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets dropped the second game of the series last night, but to be fair Adam Wainwright was full-Wainwright last night. Anyway, the Mets get to put last night behind them as they take on Wacha tonight with an opportunity to guarantee a series split with a win. On the hill for the Mets will be Jon Niese.

Niese has not won a start this season but over his first three starts he has a 2.84 ERA over 19.0 innings while walking 5 and striking out 16. Last year he made one start against the Cards where he pitched 7.1 innings allowing 6 hits and 2 runs while walking 2 and striking out 3. The Cards have the following numbers against the Mets:

• Molina 3-11
• Holliday 2-10
• Jay 3-8, 2B
• Craig 1-5, 2B
• Ellis 4-6
• Carpenter 1-3, 2B

Wacha will be making start #5 tonight. On the season he is 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA over 4 starts and 26.0 innings with 3 walks and 25 strikeouts. His last two starts are a little more human as he has allowed 6 runs, 4 earned over 13.1 innings with a 2.71 ERA. Last year he picked up the win against the Mets pitching 6.0 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 earned runs while walking 3 and striking out 4. The Mets have the following numbers against Wacha:

• Duda 0-2
• Murphy 1-3
• Quintanilla 1-3, HR
• Wright 0-2
• Nieuwenhuis 0-2

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets have a winning record! Last night, the Mets beat the Cardinals in a shutout win as they moved one game above .500. Now the Mets will have to face the heart of the St. Louis starting rotation for the next three days, so the order is tougher, but the Mets will be up to the challenge. Today Dillon Gee gets the start as he matches up with Adam Wainwright.

Dillon Gee is 1-0 on the season over 4 starts with a 3.71 ERA and 26.2 innings of work. His FIP this season is 5.03 as he has walked 7 and struck out 17. His last start against the Diamondbacks was by far his best of the season as he shutout them out over 7.0 innings while allowing only 3 hits, no walks and 3 strikeouts. Last year he was 1-1 over 10.2 innings and two starts with a 5.06 ERA while allowing 15 hits, 7 runs, 6 earned, 5 walks and 12 strikeouts. The Cards have the following numbers against Gee:

• Holliday 2-12, 2 2B
• Molina 3-12, 2 2B
• Craig 4-8, HR
• Jay 2-7
• Carpenter 2-4, 3 BB
• Ellis 0-3

The Mets match up against their long time foe in Adam Wainwright who is off to another great start this year where he has gone 3-1 over 4 starts with a 1.80 ERA, 2.28 FIP and 30.0 innings of work allowing 9 walks and striking out 32. Two starts ago were rougher Adam as he allowed 4 ER over 7.0 IP, but last time out he threw a complete game shutout. Against the Mets last year he pitched 13.0 innings over two starts with a 2.08 ERA. The Mets have the following numbers against Wainwright:

• Wright 5-15, 2 2B
• C Young 2-12
• Duda 2-8, 2B, HR
• Murphy 6-11, 2 2B, 3B
• Quintanilla 4-12, 2 2B
• Granderson 1-5

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets have a tough schedule to open up the season, and this week they end their monster gauntlet with four games against the Cardinals at home. Yesterday the Mets were able to avoid the sweep by the Braves after a 14 inning game and for the second time this season they improve to .500. Tonight Jenrry Mejia makes the start as he goes up against Tyler Lyons.

There were some doubts as to whether Mejia would be able to make this start. He started off well last time out but had finger blister issues that took him out of the game and made his start today questionable. On the season he is 2-0 over 3 games and 16.0 innings with a 2.81 ERA while walking 11 and striking out 18 (and an FIP of 4.52). He has limited exposure to the Cardinals. In his career he faced them in two games and 3.0 innings allowing 4 hits, no runs, one walk and 3 strikeouts. Here are the limited numbers:

• Mark Ellis 1-3
• Molina 1-2
• Craig 0-1

Tyler Lyons makes his first start of the season tonight. Last year in the majors he went 2-4 over 12 games and 8 starts pitching 53.0 innings posting a 4.75 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 16 walks and 43 strikeouts. In the minors this year he is 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA over 3 games and 19.0 innings, 5 walks and 18 strikeouts. Tyler has not faced the Mets at all in his major league career nor has he faced anyone on the Mets roster.

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets look to avoid the sweep today at Citi Field, and climb back to .500 after a near win yesterday. The bullpen yesterday wasn’t the greatest, but neither was the hitting. The Mets bats didn’t really show up until the 8th and 9th inning, and the Mets were able to make it interesting in the ninth. Anyway, the Mets bats will get another crack at David Hale as he squares off against Zack Wheeler.

Wheeler is 1-2 on the season with a 4.67 ERA over 17.1 innings while allowing 9 ER, walking 5 and striking out 15. If it feels like Zack has been pitching better than that, you’re right. His FIP is 3.72 so far. His second start of the season, by far his worst start, was against the Braves where he allowed 8 hits and 4 ER over 5.0 innings with 6 strikeouts. The Braves have the following numbers against Wheeler:

• Freeman 5-9, HR
• C Johnson 1-11
• Simmons 3-9
• Heyward 3-9, HR
• J Upton 0-9
• Gattis 1-8, 2B

David Hale is making his third start of the season. He has pitched 9.1 innings this year with 2.89 ERA and a 4.05 FIP. He has not pitched since his last start on April 10th against teh Mets where he allowed 4 runs, 3 earned over 4.1 innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers against David:

• Granderson 0-2
• Murphy 1-2
• Wright 1-2
• E Young 3-3, 3B
• d’Arnaud 0-2
• Tejada 0-2

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets look to win their first game in the Post-Ike Davis era tonight after dropping last night’s game. More importantly, the Mets need win tonight’s game in order to get back above .500 and guarantee that they end the series at least at .500. Dropping last night’s game doesn’t really do it justice in terms of visualizing what happened. The Mets were no-hit by the Braves almost through the 8th when David Wright was able to get a hit, but that was it for the Amazin’s last night. Niese did great, and sadly was saddled with the loss but the bullpen allowed the Braves to stretch their lead. Bartolo Colon gets the nod tonight as he squares up against Ervin Santanta.

Colon had a rough, rough outing his last time out. In 5.0 innings he allowed 11 hits and 9 earned runs, including back to back to back homers in the first inning, four homers overall. On a short season with three starts, that saw his ERA jump from 2.08 to 6.00. In the start before that, he was masterful against the Braves pitching 7.0 innings, scattering 6 hits while walking none, allowing no runs and striking out 5. The Braves have the following numbers against Colon:

• BJ Upton 8-26, 2B, 3B, HR
• Laird 0-7
• Doumit 0-2
• Heyward 0-4
• Freeman 1-3, 2B
• Gattis 1-3
• Johnson 1-3
• Simmons 1-3

The Mets bats will get their second look at Evin Santana this season. Over his first two starts he has allowed 1 ER over 14.0 innings of work with 7 hits, 2 walks and 17 strikeouts. His first start of the year was against the Mets were he picked up the win after going 8.0 innings and striking out 6 batters (In his next start he struck out 11 over 6.0). The Mets have the following numbers against Santana:

• Granderson 11-43, 2 2B, 5 HR
• C Young 0-6
• E Young 3-7
• Murphy 2-6, 2B
• Satin 0-3
• d’Arnaud 0-3
• Duda 1-3
• Wright 1-3

Lets Go Mets!

The Mets continue their stretch of teams with “A” as a logo tonight as they return home to play the Braves. After a tough Sunday against the Angels, the Mets bounced back strong sweeping the Diamondbacks in Arizona, negating the series where the Mets were swept by the Nationals. Anyway the Mets draw Atlanta again as they face off against Aaron Harang behind Jon Niese.

Niese is 0-1 in his two starts so far this season with a 3.46 ERA over 13.0 innings allowing 12 hits, 5 ER, 2 BB and 9 strikeouts. Jon did not face Braves the first time around this season and last year was forgettable against them as he allowed 11 ER over 14.1 innings while walking 9 and striking out 17. When you break the numbers down, this is due to a start where he allowed 7 ER over 4.0 innings and then 3 ER over 3.1 innings. He had one fantastic start, 7.0 innings with 1 ER. The Braves have the following numbers against the Braves:

• Uggla 9-30, 3 2B, 3B
• Freeman 9-27, 2 2B, 2 HR
• Heyward 9-24, 2 2B, 2 HR
• Upton 8-15, 2B
• Johnson 3-13, 2B
• Simmons 4-10, 2B
• Schafer 0-9

Harang has been the surprise of 2014. The former Met has had a great start to the year in his first three starts logging 18.2 innings with a 2-1 record with a 0.96 ERA. He has allowed  only 9 hits this year and 2 ER. His one loss this came against the Mets where he allowed one earned run over 6.0 innings, walking 4 and striking out 9. The Mets have the following numbers against Aaron:

• Wright 11-24, 4 2B, HR
• Duda 2-12, HR
• Murphy, 6-14, 4 2B, HR
• Tejada 6-12, 2 2B
• EY Jr 5-8, 2B
• Granderson 1-5, 2B
• Davis 0-4

Lets Go Mets!