The Mets will look for their 9th win in a row and an 8-0 start at home as the open a three-game series with the Braves at Citi Field tonight at 7:10 PM.
Here is today’s starting lineup for New York:
1) Curtis Granderson – RF
2) Juan Lagares – CF
3) Lucas Duda – 1B
4) Michael Cuddyer – LF
5) Daniel Murphy – 2B
6) Eric Campbell – 3B
7) Kevin Plawecki – C
8) Wilmer Flores – SS
9) Jon Niese – LHP
Here are today’s pitching match-ups:
Jon Niese (1-0, 1.59 ERA) will start for the Mets. Niese is coming off a bend-but-not break performance against the Phillies, where he allowed one earned run on nine hits and two walks while striking out four in 6.1 innings pitched. Niese may not be blowing people away early in the season, but the numbers speak for themselves as he has a sub-2 ERA after two starts against divisional opponents. Niese has posted a 2.20 ERA in his last five starts against the Braves dating back to 2013, but the Mets are just 1-4 in those games.
Key match-ups vs. Niese:
Cameron Maybin: 7-for-28, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 6 K
Jonny Gomes: 6-for-10, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Freddie Freeman: 11-for-40, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 4 K
Chris Johnson: 9-for-24, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 5 K
Trevor Cahill (0-1, 15.43 ERA) will start for the Braves. Cahill is making his 2nd start of the season for Atlanta, and he hopes it’ll be better than his last, as he allowed four earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out two in 2.1 innings. Cahill, still just 27, has become a bit of a journeyman pitcher in his career, as the Braves are his 3rd team in the last five years. Cahill is 64-70 with a 4.10 ERA in his career.
Key match-ups vs. Cahill:
Michael Cuddyer: 4-for-22, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 4 K
Curtis Granderson: 1-for-11, 2B, 1 RBI, 4 BB, 1 K
Daniel Murphy: 2-for-4, 3 RBI
Lucas Duda: 0-for-3, 1 K
Here’s what I am looking for from the Mets on Tuesday…
It’s Kevin Plawecki’s time.
With the injury to Travis d’Arnaud, the other catcher in the Mets system, Kevin Plawecki, is up making his major league debut tonight. After hitting .292 with a .368 on-base percentage and 26 home runs, 72 doubles and 177 RBI in 296 minor league games over the course of two and a half seasons, I’m looking forward to seeing what Plawecki can do at this level. If his past is any indicator, I expect him to make the most of his time here, and create an interesting debate when d’Arnaud comes back.
Keep pushing.
The Mets are off to a great start this season. 7-0 at home, 10-3 overall and riding an eight-game winning streak, things are going right for this team in terms of results. What hasn’t gone right thus far has been injuries, as the team has lost Zack Wheeler, Josh Edgin, Vic Black, Jenrry Mejia (before his 80-game suspension), David Wright, Jerry Blevins and Travis d’Arnaud to various different injures–not to mention, Bobby Parnell is still on his way back from Tommy John surgery. With all of this adversity they’re fighting through, the Mets have continued to win on the field, and now they need to keep doing that after yesterday’s off-day. The Nationals aren’t going to struggle forever, as they’re already starting to get healthier. Despite the injuries this team needs to keep pushing, keep fighting and, most importantly, keep winning.
How will the bullpen fare?
Over the weekend the bullpen bent but didn’t break against the Marlins, as they nearly blew 5-0 and 7-3 leads late in two games. Without Jenrry Mejia, Bobby Parnell, Vic Black and now Jerry Blevins, the bullpen has gotten thinner. It will be interesting to see if the guys already there–Carlos Torres, Buddy Carlyle, Sean Gilmartin, Alex Torres and Jeurys Familia–can continue to pitch well, while a pair of the newer guys–Eric Goeddel and Hansel Robles–can contribute in a positive way.
Just Mets 