The Mets will go for a series sweep of the Phillies at 7:10 PM tonight at Citi Field.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup:
1) Curtis Granderson – RF
2) Travis d’Arnaud – C
3) Lucas Duda – 1B
4) Michael Cuddyer – LF
5) Daniel Murphy – 2B
6) Eric Campbell – 3B
7) Juan Lagares – CF
8) Ruben Tejada – SS
9) Jonathon Niese – LHP
Here are tonight’s pitching matchups:
Jon Niese (0-0, 1.80 ERA) will start for the Mets. While Niese only allowed one earned run in five innings against the Braves last Friday in Atlanta, he struggled through five innings with his command and his delivery in taking a no-decision. Niese has allowed three earned runs or less in 31 of his last 34 starts dating back to September 13, 2013, and he has allowed three earned runs or less in 27 of his 30 starts last season, tied for the third-most in the NL and three behind leader Johnny Cueto. Niese pitched well against the Phillies last year – he went 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in four starts against them in 2014. He’s 8-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 19 career starts against Philadelphia.
Jerome Williams (0-0, 1.50 ERA) will start for the Phillies. Williams pitched well in his 2015 debut against the Nationals last Friday, allowing just a run in six innings but took a no-decision in a Philadelphia win. Williams has given up two earned runs or fewer in seven of his ten career starts with Philadelphia. Last year, he became the first pitcher in MLB history to record three wins against the same team in one season for three different teams when he beat the A’s on April 26 while with the Astros, July 25 while with the Rangers, and September 20 while with the Phillies. Williams defeated the Mets in his only start against them last August 30 when he allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings – He is 1-1 with a 3.48 ERA in four career starts versus New York.
Here’s what I am looking for tonight from the Mets…
Travis d’Arnaud is batting second.
D’Arnaud is batting second for the first time in his big league career tonight. He is off to a very good start this season, and with David Wright out for a while, this move seems appropriate for the time being. He’s getting on-base, he’s showing excellent plate discipline and attacking pitches in the strike zone so well early on in the season. That makes him as good of a table setter as the Mets currently have. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to this role in the lineup, and if he can thrive and develop an identity at the top of the lineup.
Ruben Tejada – not Wilmer Flores – is at shortstop tonight.
Terry Collins said today this was the plan regardless of what happened to Flores last night. Given Niese induces a lot of ground balls with his cutter, so considering Tejada is a better defender that Flores makes him a good candidate for shortstop tonight, and a good opportunity to let Flores’ hand settle down after being hit last night.
Juan Lagares needs to start chasing fewer pitches.
Lagares is all over the place at the plate. He’s taking big swings, swinging at pitches well outside the strike zone and far too frequently at that. He’s seeing an increased number of sliders, but he’s chasing them rather than forcing fastball-type situations, and it’s putting him behind in the count too quickly in most sequences. He’s clearly pressing, and eventually this will even out. But with David Wright out for a while, tonight would be a good night for him to start coming around.
Just Mets 