The Mets are looking for a perfect ten-game homestand and their 11th win in a row as they look to sweep the Braves at Citi Field this afternoon at 1:10 PM.
Here is today’s starting lineup:
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) Wilmer Flores – SS
8) Anthony Recker – C
9) Bartolo Colon – RHP
Here are this afternoon’s pitching matchups:
Bartolo Colon (3-0, 2.25 ERA) will start for the Mets. Colon has been masterful over his first three starts, allowing only five earned runs and one walk in 20 innings to date. He needed only 91 pitches in seven innings to earn his third win of the year his last time out against the Marlins, allowing only a run on six hits. Colon was on the mound against Atlanta when the Mets started their ten-game winning streak on April 12 – he allowed three runs in seven innings for his second win of the year at Turner Field that afternoon. In seven career starts against the Braves, Colon is 5-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 52 innings.
Key matchups vs Colon:
AJ Pierzynski: 12-for-50, 2 HR, 5 K
Jonny Gomes: 8-for-21, 3 HR, 4 K
Freddie Freeman: 6-for-13, 3 2B
Julio Teheran (2-0, 3.71 ERA) will start for the Braves. The young Braves right-hander is off to a solid start to his 2015 season, although he got roughed up in his last start against the Blue Jays to the tune of five runs in five innings. He last pitched against the Mets on April 11 and allowed only a run on two hits despite allowing four walks in six innings at Turner Field. In nine career games and eight starts against the Mets, Teheran is 4-2 with a 3.04 ERA in 50 1/3 innings.
Key matchups vs. Teheran:
Lucas Duda: 7-for-20, 2 2B, 2 HR
Curtis Granderson: 3-for-12, 2B, HR
Daniel Murphy: 5-for-15, 2 2B
Here’s what I am looking for this afternoon…
Feeling for pitches.
It’s cold and breezy at Citi Field today, so it’ll be worth watching if Colon has a good feel for his multiple fastballs early in this game. He relies so heavily on the varying speed, but also the movement of his pitches to be effective. Do the colder conditions impact his ability to move his pitches around and stay consistently on the corners?
Daniel Murphy’s bat to heat up.
He’s just 7-for-50 to start his season, but this is a good matchup for Murphy according to the numbers, and therefore could serve as a good opportunity for him to get his bat on-track. He’s too good of a hitter for this to continue, and he’s the kind of hitter when he’s right, his hits come in bunches. Perhaps that trend will start today…
Keep the good times rolling.
It’s been a really fun and special homestand for the Mets. They’ve flat out done nothing wrong. They could cap a magical first week at home with a sweep of a divisional opponent today. It will be interesting to see if the Mets show up flat this afternoon considering the energy from last night. But, good teams find a way to overcome that, and so far the Mets are a very good team in 2015.
Just Mets 