New York Mets (2-2) at Atlanta Braves (2-3) 1:30pm TV: SNY Radio: WFAN-AM
Johan Santana vs. John Smoltz
What to watch: I thought John Maine vs. Tim Hudson would be a good pitching match-up but it didn’t turn out that way. Santana and Smoltz are both headed for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Smoltz is already in. Santana is well on his way. The Mets don’t want to drop a two-game series in Atlanta. They need a win today to remain above .500.
Image from WikipediaThe Philadelphia Phillies activated closer Brad Lidge from the disabled list today. He’ll be with the team for their series at Shea Stadium this week.
Lidge has always had great stuff but struggled over the last couple of years in Houston. It’ll be interesting to see how he adapts to life in Philadelphia. The fans don’t take blown saves very well there.
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The Mets are seriously considering Nelson Figueroa for a start on Friday which would make Johan Santana’s home debut on Saturday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers. The game is scheduled for 1:10pm and tickets are still available. The Milwaukee Brewers, although a pretty good team, aren’t typically high demand tickets in April. That could change with Santana making his first start at Shea Stadium.
Image from WikipediaThe Atlanta Braves decided to bring John Smoltz back from the disabled list tomorrow to face Johan Santana in the finale of the two game series. This is the second good pitching matchup of the short series.
Smoltz has been bothered by soreness in his 40 year old shoulder. He’ll be 41 on May 15th. Tom Glavine will pitch in Denver now on Monday night.
I have to wonder if this has anything to do with Glavine being a former Met. He’s been around long enough not to be bothered by something like that. And he’s had the experience of facing the Braves with the Mets. It is curious though that the Braves choose to make the change at the last minute like this.
Atlanta- Kelly Johnson’s grand slam off Jorge Sosa in the seventh inning capped an 11-5 win for the Atlanta Braves over the New York Mets. John Maine (0-1) took the loss after giving up four runs in four innings in his first start of the season. He had good velocity but lacked command in giving up eight hits and three walks to go along with five strikeouts.
Carlos Beltran went 2-4 with his sixth double of the young season but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Braves offensive barrage. Angel Pagan continued to hit well bringing his average to .385 and adding two more RBI’s today.
The Mets send ace Johan Santana to the mound tomorrow to try to tie up the rain shortened series against John Smoltz.
See the full recap and box score at CBS Sportsline.
Billy Wagner’s weekly spot on ESPN Radio with Micheal Kay. You can suffer through the Brian Cashman interview or skip ahead to the 24:30 mark to hear Billy.
In case you missed it last Sunday, here’s the video of Bill James interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes.
The Mets Report 