The Mets open a four-game series with the Diamondbacks tonight at Chase Field in Phoenix at 9:40 PM ET.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for New York:
Ruben Tejada – 2B
Daniel Murphy – 3B
Michael Cuddyer – LF
Lucas Duda – 1B
Wilmer Flores – SS
John Mayberry Jr. – RF
Juan Lagares – CF
Kevin Plawecki – C
Matt Harvey – RHP
Here is tonight’s pitching matchup:
Matt Harvey (5-3, 3.11 ERA) will start for the Mets.
Career vs. Arizona: 1-1, 3.97 ERA, 2 starts
Career at Chase Field: 1-0, 0.00 ERA 1 start
Note: Harvey’s only career start at Chase Field was his big league debut in 2012.
Key matchups vs. Harvey:
Aaron Hill: 3-for-7, 2 K
Paul Goldschmidt: 0-for-3, 3K
Robbie Ray (1-0, 1.50 ERA) will start for the Diamondbacks.
This is Ray’s first career appearance against the Mets, and his first career appearance at Chase Field.
Here’s what I am looking for from the Mets tonight:
It’s #HarveyDay.
The ace is on the mound, they club is coming off two losses in a row. It’s Harvey’s job to play the role as stopper and get the team back on the right track. The line in his last start last Friday against the Marlins doesn’t tell the story – he was great for eight innings, making just one bad pitch. He’s going on one extra day’s worth of rest tonight thanks to the Mets implementing the six-man rotation yesterday in San Diego, but he’s not pitching with too much rest or out of his routine to a large degree.
The stuff should be crisp, his command should be right, and both will need to be if he and the club are going to survive that awesome Arizona offense in that ballpark which is conducive for a lot of runs to be scored.
The Mets infield looks different.
On Tuesday, Sandy Alderson said they will not be shifting the infield around for the foreseeable future. Well, they shifted it anyway and certainly made things a little more advantageous for the club with Murphy at third and Tejada at shortstop. This is a better defensive alignment as Tejada isn’t a third baseman and Murphy is a better third baseman than he is second baseman, so the defense should be a little tighter in theory tonight.
Bring the bats.
This is a hitters ballpark, and a lot of runs are consistently being scored in this building. I certainly hope the Mets brought the lumber with them to Chase Field and can take advantage of the ballpark and it’s conditions over the next four games.
Just Mets 