The Mets will look to avoid the sweep in the final game of their three-game series against the Giants tonight at 7:10 PM at Citi Field.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for New York:
Curtis Granderson – RF
Juan Lagares – CF
Lucas Duda – 1B
Michael Cuddyer – LF
Wilmer Flores – SS
Travis d’Arnaud – C
Dilson Herrera – 2B
Eric Campbell – 3B
Jon Niese – LHP
Here is tonight’s pitching matchup:
Jon Niese (3-6, 4.43 ERA) will start for the Mets.
Key matchups vs Niese:
Buster Posey: 7-for-19, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K
Brandon Crawford: 4-for-9, 3B, 3 RBI
Angel Pagan: 1-for-11, HR, RBI, 2 K
Tim Lincecum (6-3, 3.29 ERA) will start for the Giants.
Key matchups vs Lincecum:
Michael Cuddyer: 7-for-18, 4 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 K
Curtis Granderson: 2-for-9, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 K
Lucas Duda: 0-for-6, 2 BB, 2 K
Here is what I am looking for from the Mets tonight:
Dilson Herrera’s back in the nick of time–literally.
Mets second baseman Dilson Herrera is off the disabled list and starting tonight, and right in the nick of time–both figuratively and literally. Not only could the Mets use the 21-year-old’s bat in their lineup which has struggled mightily of late, but Herrera didn’t arrive to Citi Field from his flight from Las Vegas until 5:13 PM, just under two hours before first pitch tonight.
The absence of Herrera would’ve caused havoc for the Mets because with Ruben Tejada on the paternity list and Danny Muno sent down on Wednesday, they are without a backup infielder. Had Herrera not arrived in time, I suppose the Mets only option would have been to start Anthony Recker at third base and move Eric Campbell over to second for the night. The team certainly dodged a bullet there.
Another positive step for Jon Niese.
It’s been a rough 2015 campaign thus far for Jon Niese, but he may be trending upwards. In his last start, while he did take the loss, the left-hander went six innings, allowed three earned runs while striking out eight Diamondbacks hitters. It’s not a performance that will jump off the page, however it is a step in the right direction for Niese, who allowed at least four earned runs in each of his previous four starts and had an ERA of 6.67 in his previous five starts. As the Mets look for more production out of him, or to potentially work out a trade with a pitching-needy team, Niese has the chance to make it back-to-back good starts with a quality outing tonight.
Just Mets 