San Diego Padres (43-69 Road: 18-35) at New York Mets (58-53 Home: 32-20) 7:10pm
Chris Young (4-4 4.12) vs. Mike Pelfrey (9-7 3.91)
What to watch: The only thing I can say about this is that the Mets owe the Padres a major beating for sweeping a four game series in June in California. Remember the three 2-1 games that the Mets lost there? It’s payback time.
Tues. Aug. 5 7:10pm Chris Young (4-4 4.12) vs. Mike Pelfrey (9-7 3.91)
Wed. Aug. 6 7:10pm Cha Seung Baek (3-6 5.22) vs. Pedro Martinez (3-2 6.16)
Thurs. Aug. 7 12:10 pm Josh Banks (3-4 3.65) vs. Johan Santana (9-7 2.86)
What to watch: The Padres are in last place in the worst division in baseball. Only the Mariners and Nationals have worse records this season. The Padres swept the Mets in a four game series in San Diego during the first week of June. So the Mets owe them a beating. Anything less than a sweep will be a failure in my mind.
The Mets rotation is unaffected by John Maine’s injury for this series. So there are no excuses not to clobber a bad team like the Padres.
There’s been some talk about whether Trevor Hoffman should still be closing game for the Padres. He took the loss Friday night when he gave up a run in the 10th inning against the Giants. He’s converted 23 of 26 save opportunities this season but he’s 1-6 with a 4.59 ERA. Not very closer-like numbers.
Mike Pelfrey got bombed and lost a game for the first time since May. He only went four innings and gave up five runs in the fourth inning. Joe Smith also had a bad inning in the eighth, giving up two runs on two walks and a hit.
Marlon Anderson had a big offensive game going 3 for 4 with 2 runs. That’s good to see because he’s looked completely lost at the plate recently. Anderson also looked smoother in left field than he has before. He must be shagging some fly balls because he looked more comfortable out there last night.
Damion Easley hit a big three-run, pinch hit home run in the seventh to get within one run of the Marlins but it wasn’t enough. The Mets did get a nice rally going in the ninth as well but they couldn’t sustain it long enough to tie or win the game.
The Mets are off on Thursday and in Houston on Friday with Pedro on the mound.
New York Mets (58-49 Road: 26-29) at Florida Marlins (56-51 Home: 30-24) 7:10pm
Mike Pelfrey (9-6 3.67) vs. Josh Johnson (0-0 3.71)
What to watch: Johnson has only pitched in three games for the Marlins this season but the Fish have won all three. Pelfrey has won seven consecutive decisions and hasn’t lost a game since May 26th. The Mets and Marlins play the rubber game of the series before the Mets leave town for Houston tonight with an off-day tomorrow.
Visit the Mets Report Live Game Chat during the game to chat with other fans. Click on “Live Game Chat” above or click here.
Image by Getty Images via DaylifeTim Marchman of the New York Sun, a terrific writer, wrote a great analysis yesterday about the massive change in results that Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez have gotten under pitching coach Dan Warthen. Both were struggling early this season under pitching coach Rick Peterson.
To sum up the piece, Perez is throwing more strikes and generally closer to the strike zone now. He doesn’t appear to have modified the types of pitches that he’s throwing. And Pelfrey changed the pitches he’s throwing from sinker/change up to straight fastball, sinker, curve ball. The results, of course, have been dramatic for both pitchers.
My take is that Peterson had a philosophy that he believed to be the “correct” methodology for all pitchers to utilize. That is, being a fastball/change up pitcher more than using a curve ball.
It appears to me that Dan Warthen doesn’t subscribe to a one style fits all approach to pitching. Each pitcher needs to maximize their unique abilities. Although Duaner Sanchez hasn’t succeeded under Warthen that may be an aberration due to his year and a half out of baseball with injuries.
Once again Mike Pelfrey was completely in control of the game. He went seven innings on 103 pitches giving up only seven hits and no walks for one run. He raised his season record to 9-6 with the win tonight.
Endy Chavez went 4 for 5 with a run scored tonight. Carlos Delgado hit his 20th homer of the season. And Argenis Reyes hit his first career home run. Of course, the Mets gave him the silent treatment in the dugout after he hit it. Jose Reyes had his twelfth triple of the season going 2 for 5 with 2 RBI’s.
There is some reason for concern though. Duaner Sanchez was terrible again. He faced three batters without getting an out, just as he did in the first game of the Phillies series.
The Phillies lost at home to Atlanta tonight so the Mets move to a 2 game lead in the NL East. And the Mets are now 22-12 under Jerry Manuel. Tonight’s game is the St. Louis Cardinals fifth consecutive loss.
St. Louis Cardinals (57-47 Road: 27-22) at New York Mets (55-47 Home: 30-19) 7:10pm
Mitchell Boggs (3-1 6.59) vs. Mike Pelfrey (8-6 3.81)
What to watch: The Cardinals just lost four straight games in Milwaukee after winning four straight in San Diego. The Cardinals have dropped to four games behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Boggs’ last start was against the Mets on July 3rd when he got rocked for 11 runs (10 earned) over six innings. Pelfrey’s last start in Cincinnati was rough giving up five runs over seven innings. But he hasn’t lost a game since May 26th.
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