The Mets brought in a reliever off the street today in the form of Al Reyes who was cut by the Rays earlier this season. He was 2-2 in 26 appearances but has closing experience as recently as last year.
Reyes signed a minor league deal and the Mets hope he can have an impact in September.
Atlanta Braves (56-70 Road: 22-39) at New York Mets (69-57 Home: 37-23) 7:10pm
Jair Jurrjens (11-8 3.15) vs. Mike Pelfrey (11-8 3.91)
What to watch: Pelfrey threw seven shutout innings in his last start in Pittsburgh and has been a complete revelation in the second half of the season. Jurrjens has been good as well, but he’s lost 3 of his last 4 decisions. Look for the Mets to keep the good times rolling tonight.
Visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans.
The Mets scored five runs in the eighth inning to shock the Braves. The key hit was Carlos Delgado’s double with the bases loaded to score two runs and take the lead for good.
Oliver Perez didn’t have it tonight. He got a quality start, for what that’s worth, going 6.1 innings giving up three runs. But he didn’t have good control and was in trouble for much of the night.
The Braves bullpen completely imploded in the eighth. It was good to see that can happen to someone beside the Mets for once.
Here’s some audio clips from WFAN radio. Ron Darling joins Boomer & Carton, Brian Schneider joins Joe & Evan to talk about the state of the Mets.
The Mets got the news that Billy Wagner still has pain and swelling in his left elbow after being examined in New York. His return is unknown and there’s early speculation that he may not be back this season at all.
Wagner’s had a checkered record this season but he’s the only legitimate closer on the team. There isn’t a back up eighth inning guy that can walk in and take his place.
This could be a huge blow to the Mets playoff hopes if he can’t come back this season. Omar Minaya needs to work the phones for a waiver deal to see if he can work a team that’s out of contention for a legitimate closer.
The Mets did make a deal with Washington last week for Luis Ayala but he’s not the solution to this problem. Ambirorix Burgos is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and may be able to get on the roster by the end of August or September. But who knows what we’ll get out of him this season?
Atlanta Braves (56-69 Road: 22-38) at New York Mets (68-57 Home: 36-23) 7:10pm
Jo-Jo Reyes (3-9 5.33) vs. Oliver Perez (9-7 3.91)
What to watch: Perez has turned into a consistent winner in the second half of his contract season. The Braves are just playing out the string this year after trading Mark Teixeira away. Reyes has lost five of his last six starts for the Braves. Look for the Mets to take this one.
Visit The Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other Mets fans.
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