Preview: Mets at Nationals July 4, 2010

New York Mets (45-36) at Washington Nationals (36-46) 1:35 pm

Hisanori Takahashi (6-3 4.24) vs Craig Stammen (2-2 5.13)

TV: SNY   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Mets need this one to even the series at 2-2 before they come home to face the Reds this week. Takahashi was pathetic in his last start against the Marlins giving up 6 runs over 5.2 innings. I have no confidence in him as a starter. The Nats have lost three of the last four games that Stammen started. But his last two starts against the Braves and Reds were excellent. During those starts, he only gave up 3 runs over 14 innings.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Facebook page during the game to chat with other Mets fans! Connect with The Mets Report on Twitter too.

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Preview: Mets at Nationals July 3, 2010

New York Mets (45-35) at Washington Nationals (35-46) 4:10 pm

R.A. Dickey (6-1 2.98) vs Stephen Strasburg (2-2 2.27)

TV: FOX   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: This is an odd pitching match-up. I have to admit that I can’t wait to see Strasburg this afternoon. It’s not surprising that Fox picked up this game. The young phenom has been drawing crowds wherever he goes. I bet the TV ratings will be relatively good for a summer afternoon on a holiday weekend. Dickey had his first loss and really bad start against the Marlins on Monday. This is where we’ll start to see if his first six wins were a mirage or not.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Facebook page during the game to chat with other Mets fans! Connect with The Mets Report on Twitter too.

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Video: Stephen Strasburg Preview July 3, 2010

Here’s some ESPN video with Buck Showalter giving us a preview of Stephen Strasburg. He’s lost his last two starts but his velocity and control are incredible. It’ll be really interesting to see the Mets facing him this afternoon on Fox. I can’t even think of another starting pitcher that I could compare with Strasburg to see how the Mets perform against a fireballing-righty with excellent control and three good pitches.

http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf

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Mets 5 – Nationals 3 July 2, 2010

New York Mets starter Jonathon Niese pitches against the Washington Nationals in the first inning of their National League MLB baseball game in Washington, July 2, 2010. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets got another outstanding start from Jon Niese going 7 IP and only giving up 1 run. He also had a career high 8 strikeouts and no walks. He’s really become such a consistent solid presence in the rotation. He also helped himself at the plate. He went 1 for 3 with an RBI double.

The Mets offense had 8 hits and 2 walks tonight. They were led by David Wright going 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored. Alex Cora had a bases loaded triple in the 4 run fourth inning that broke the game open.

The game got interesting in the bottom of the ninth when Elmer Dessens gave up a hit and a walk with two outs. K-Rod came in and gave up 2 hits allowing both inherited runners to score. Oddly, the game ended when he picked off Roger Bernadina at second base. It was one of the biggest bonehead plays I’ve seen in a while by Bernadina.

Box score

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Preview: Mets at Nationals July 2, 2010

New York Mets (44-35) at Washington Nationals (35-45) 7:05 pm

Jon Niese (5-2 3.84) vs Luis Atilano (6-4 4.33)

TV: SNY   Radio: WFAN

What to watch: The Mets try to tie up the series behind Niese who had an excellent start against the Twins in his last outing going 6 IP and giving up no runs on 4 hits. The Nats have lost 4 of the last 5 games that Atilano started. He’s been inconsistent lately. Tonight’s game is a good chance to get a win before they face Stasburg on Saturday.

Don’t forget to visit The Mets Report Facebook page during the game to chat with other Mets fans! Connect with The Mets Report on Twitter too.

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Video: Jose Reyes on Side Injury

Here’s some video from ESPN with Jose Reyes talking about the injury to his right side. He’s missed the last two games now and the lineup just isn’t the same without him. We know that all too well from all of the time he missed in 2009. But the Mets are 1-1 so far without him.

It’s a day-to-day situation, otherwise he would have been placed on the disabled list already. Let’s hope he’s back tonight against the Nats.

http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf

Nationals 2 – Mets 1 July 1, 2010

New York Mets starter Johan Santana pitches against the Washington Nationals in the first inning of their National League MLB baseball game in Washington, July 1, 2010. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThere actually was some good news in a night when Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, and Jason Bay didn’t start the game. That news? Johan Santana pitched really well after four really bad starts in a row. As usual, the Mets didn’t back up Santana with any runs. The just couldn’t do anything against Livan Hernandez. Santana went 7 strong innings giving up 1 run on 98 pitches. It looked like he made an argument to Jerry Manuel to stay in the game but lost the argument.

The Mets offense was weak against Hernandez and the Nationals with only 8 hits and no walks. Henry Blanco and Jesus Feliciano had two hits apiece but all 8 Mets hits were singles.

The game was 1-0 until the bottom of the seventh when the Nats tied it off Santana. It was lost in the bottom of the ninth when Pedro Feliciano loaded the bases and Ryan Zimmermann hit a sac fly off Ryota Igarashi.

Box score

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