Just Mets

The Mets will look to bounce back as they open up a four-game series with the Dodgers at Citi Field on Friday night at 7:10 PM.

Here is today’s starting lineup for New York:

Curtis Granderson – RF
Ruben Tejada – SS
Wilmer Flores – 2B
John Mayberry Jr. – LF
Eric Campbell – 3B
Lucas Duda – 1B
Juan Lagares – CF
Anthony Recker – C
Bartolo Colon – RHP

Here is today’s pitching matchup:

Bartolo Colon (9-8, 4.86 ERA) will start for the Mets.

Clayton Kershaw (7-6, 2.68 ERA) will start for the Dodgers.

Here’s what I’m looking for from the Mets today:

Rebound.

The Mets are coming off of their worst loss of the season and arguably since they were last competitive in September of the 2008 season. If this team truly wants to be in the thick of things and make real run at the postseason this year, they’re going to have to shake off losses like Wednesday’s in Washington and come back fighting. They can either take what happened yesterday, use it as motivation and fight, or let it defeat them.

It won’t be easy, however…

The Mets have to play a near perfect game tonight as they’re facing one of the game’s best in Clayton Kershaw. After getting off to an un-Kershaw-like start this season, the reigning National League MVP has been absolutely dominant in his last two starts, going 2-0 while allowing no earned runs and 11 hits with 27 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched.

I don’t know how they’re going to do it, as the Mets are using a lineup, without Daniel Murphy, featuring Eric Campbell, Anthony Recker and John Mayberry Jr. The struggles for Lucas Duda have gotten so bad that he’s been moved down to the six spot in the order, the lowest he’s batted in the lineup all season.

Whether it’s aggressive on the base paths, hit and runs, small ball or whatever, the Mets are going to need to find a way tonight. They last saw Kershaw on July 3rd, where they managed five hits, two walks and one run in seven innings against the 27-year-old left-hander in a game they eventually won.

Bounce back, Bart.

The Mets have gotten stellar pitching from everyone in their starting rotation over the last month or so–except for Bartolo Colon. While he had a spectacular April for this team, it’s been nothing but since. In his last 15 starts, Colon is 6-8 with a 5.44 ERA, allowing 54 runs, 13 walks and striking out 70 in 89.1 innings pitched. His WHIP over that time is 1.39.

After getting shelled in his last start against the Cardinals where he didn’t even get out of the 5th inning, Colon needs to at the very least give the Mets some innings tonight while allowing them to stay in the game. It may not seem like much to ask for, but at this point in Colon’s career, it may be.