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 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.
The rainout in Atlanta last night caused the Mets to revise their starting pitching order. The new order is:
After the Phillies series, the Brewers come to town next Friday. Everyone with tickets for opening day at Shea can breathe a sigh of relief that Oliver Perez is pitching instead of Mike Pelfrey. I agree with the decision to skip Pelfrey’s spot and keep Santana on his regular day tomorrow, and Perez for the home opener. It would’ve been too much pressure for Pelfrey to pitch the home opener. He needs to put in the least pressurized situations so he has the best chance of pitching successfully.
The rainout game yesterday will be played on May 20th as part of a double header. I’m sure it will be a dual entry double header, as most teams do now. The good old days of buying one ticket for a double header are gone.
Picture: Turner Field
photo credit: nate steiner
Reason #432,681 to avoid Philadelphia and Citizens Bank Park:
Deadspin reports on Dollar Dog Night in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. One dollar hot dogs and reduced ticket prices for college students proves to be a toxic mix… even by Philadelphia standards. The post is complete with degrading pictures of passed out fans in the parking lot and the food fight during the eighth inning.
As a sophisticated and suave New York Mets fan, I turn my nose at these low-life fans in Philly. Stay out of our stadium, please.
photo credit: The G-tastic 7
New York Mets (2-1) at Atlanta Braves (1-3) 7:30pm TV: SNY Radio: WFAN-AM
John Maine (0-0) vs. Tim Hudson (0-0)
What to watch: We always despise the Braves, but they’re not the same powerhouse that they’ve been in the past. Maine against Hudson is a premium pitching matchup though.
Yahoo Sports Tony Gwynn and Tim Brown preview the series. Click here to view the video.
The Mets Report 