Looking to build off their first series win since late July, the Mets look to continue to cause some havoc in the postseason race when they take on the Florida Marlins. The Marlins find themselves 5.5 back of the Colorado Rockies in the Wild Card and 6 back of the slumping Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. The Marlins lead the season series 7-5, including 3-3 at Citi Field. Six of the twelve games played against these two have been decided by 1 run; the Mets being 2-4 in those games. Tonight, the Mets get a huge boost to their lineup as Carlos Beltran makes his long awaited (albeit way too late) return. My guess is that this will move Angel Pagan to left field and Cory Sullivan back to the bench.


Pitching Matchups for this series:

Tonight: Rick Vandenhurk (2-2 4.91 ERA) vs. Tim Redding (2-4 5.70 ERA)
Vandenhurk's last start (ND 8-7 vs. ATL): 5IP, 3R (2ER), 6H, 3BB, 3K
Career vs. NYM: 0-1 11.25 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, .314 BAA in 3 appearances (all starts)
Road this season: 1-1 4.80 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, .288 BAA in 3 appearances (all starts)
Redding's last start (ND 2-5 @ COL): 6.2IP, 2ER, 7H, 1BB, 6K
Career vs. FLA: 5-5 5.54 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, .271 BAA in 13 appearances (all starts)
Home this season: 1-2 6.33 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, .260 BAA in 13 appearances (5 starts)

Wednesday: Ricky Nolasco (10-8 5.27 ERA) vs. Pat Misch (1-1 3.25 ERA)
Nolasco's last start (W 8-3 vs. ATL): 6IP, 3ER, 7H, 1BB, 7K
Career vs. NYM: 2-6 6.44 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, .344 BAA in 13 appearances (11 starts)
Road this season: 5-4 5.45 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, .261 BAA in 13 appearances (all starts)
Misch's last start (W 8-3 @ COL): 7IP, 2ER, 4H, 2BB, 3K
Career vs. FLA: 0-1 13.50 ERA, 2.36 WHIP, .333 BAA in 2 appearances (1 start)
Home this season: 0-1 4.61 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, .240 BAA in 10 relief appearances

Thursday: Sean West (6-5 4.61 ERA) vs. Bobby Parnell (3-7 5.25 ERA)
West's last start (ND 9-6 @ WAS): 3IP, 5ER, 7H, 1BB, 4K
Career vs. NYM: 1-0 1.38 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, .204 BAA in 2 appearances (2 starts)
Road this season: 1-3 6.55 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, .295 BAA in 7 appearances (all starts)
Parnell's last start (ND 6-2 vs. CHC): 7IP, 0ER, 5H, 3BB, 7K
Career vs. FLA: 0-0 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .368 BAA in 7 relief appearances
Home this season: 2-5 4.94 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .260 BAA in 33 appearances (4 starts)

Don't let the records of the two teams deceive you. This will be a more evenly matched series than people anticipate; plus avoiding Met killer and Cy Young candidate Josh Johnson is HUGE. I'm torn on this. While I would love nothing more than to aid the Marlins and help them catch Philly; after the way they've knocked us out of the playoffs the past couple of seasons (and the celebrations to boot)...I wouldn't have any sympathy for them either. How will the young Marlins handle the pressure of being in the playoff chase? Can Redding, Misch and Parnell build off of their quality starts? How much of an impact will Beltran's return have on our starting lineup? Stay tuned.

For those tracking at home by the way, the Tragic Number to official elimination is 10 in the Wild Card; 11 in the Division. The Magic Number to avoid last place in the NL East is 11 as well.

Random "Why should I care" Fact: I'm going to Citi Field on Thursday for the 4th time. I am 2-1 this season; seeing 2 of Oliver Perez' 3 victories ha. Lifetime in games I've gone to however, I am 1-5 vs. the NL East (1-3 vs. PHI; 0-1 vs. ATL; 0-1 vs. FLA).