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).
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Both the Cubs and Mets are looking for consistency. The Cubs can't seem to find a rhythm; they'll win a couple in a row but then lose a couple in a row. Meanwhile, the Mets cannot win a series; they are now 0-8-2 in their last 10 series and have a notorious habit of winning the getaway game of a series after dropping the first two. While of course the Mets are long gone from the race; the Cubs are still hanging on by a thread. According to the ESPN Playoff Percentage; the Cubs have approximately a 2% chance since they are 6 back of the Wild Card. This weekend also marks the homecoming of two players. One who will certainly be roundly cheered (David Wright) and the other certainly roundly booed (Aaron Heilman).


Pitching Matchups for the Series:

Friday- Carlos Zambrano (7-6 3.91 ERA) vs. Bobby Parnell (3-7 5.81 ERA)
-Zambrano's last start (L 1-4 to NYM): 3.1 IP, 4R (3ER), 11H, 0BB, 3K
Career vs. NYM: 4-2 with 4.00 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and .250BAA in 9 appearances (8 starts)
Road this season: 5-2 with 3.17 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and .246BAA in 11 appearances (all starts
-Parnell's last start (L 4-11 to CHC): 4.2 IP, 8ER, 9H, 2BB, 2K
Career vs. CHC: 0-1 with 10.57 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and .344BAA in 3 appearances (1 start)
Home this season: 2-5 with 5.80 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and .271BAA in 32 appearances (3 starts)

Saturday- Rich Harden (8-8 4.19 ERA) vs. Nelson Figueroa (2-3 4.50 ERA)
-Harden's last start (L 3-5 to HOU): 5IP, 5ER, 5H, 6BB, 9K
Career vs. NYM: 0-0 with 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and .091BAA in 2 appearances (1 start)
Road this season: 5-2 with 2.02 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and .201 BAA in 10 appearances (all starts)
-Figueroa's last start (W 4-1 to CHC): 7IP, 1ER, 6H, 2BB, 10K
Career vs. CHC: 1-4 with 3.79 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and .259BAA in 10 appearances (5 starts)
Home this season: 1-2 with 6.87 ERA, 2.02 WHIP and .383BAA in 7 appearances (2 starts)

Sunday- Randy Wells (10-7 2.90 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey (9-10 5.03 ERA)
-Wells' last start (W 4-1 to HOU): 6.2IP, 1R (0ER), 7H, 2BB, 4K
Has never faced the Mets in his career.
Road this season: 4-3 with 2.67 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and .244BAA in 10 appearances (all starts)
-Pelfrey's last start (L 3-8 to COL): 4IP, 7R (6ER), 6H, 5BB, 4K
Has never faced the Cubs in his career.
Home this season: 5-3 with 3.80 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and .272BAA in 14 appearances (all starts)

Can Parnell hold on to his role as starter after three consecutive disasters? Can Pelfrey respond to the challege Manuel has set forth for him and step it up? Can Figueroa continue his hot streak? Can the Mets play role of spoiler and effectively end any hope of the Cubs making the playoffs? Stay tuned.
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Record: 10-19
Wins: Figueroa (2), Feliciano (2), Pelfrey, Santana, Parnell, Rodriguez, Perez, Redding
Losses: Parnell (4), Pelfrey (3), Hernandez (3), Figueroa (2), Rodriguez (2), Feliciano, Stokes, Misch, Santana, Perez
Saves: Rodriguez (5), Parnell
Longest Winning Streak: 2 (Aug 12 & 14)
Longest Losing Streak: 5 (Aug 22-26)
Series Record: 0-7-2
Runs Scored: 117
Runs Allowed: 151
Errors Committed: 17.
Home Runs: 14. Pagan (6), Francoeur (3), Castillo, Cora, Tatis, Murphy, Wright
Home Runs Allowed: 28
Games Lost in the NL East: 7 (from 10.5 GB to 17.5 GB)
Games Lost in the Wild Card: 6.5 (from 6.5 GB to 13 GB)
Tragic Number: 19 Read More...