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After taking 2 of 3 from the from the Fish, the Mets travel to Milwaukee for an important 3 game set with the Brewers. The Brewers are putting together one of their most consistently good seasons in decades and should provide a challenge for the Mets who are looking to stay atop the NL East. Milwaukee is coming off of a 3 game sweep in Pittsburgh and currently sits second in the NL Central at 80-56, 4.5 games behind the Cubs and 5.5 ahead of Philly in the wildcard race.
Pitching Matchups:
Monday 2:05ET : Johan Sanatana vs RHP Ben Sheets (12-7, 3.05 ERA, 174 IP, 144K)
This is a rematch of an April 12th duel between these two pitchers where the Brewers defeated the Mets 5-3. Sheets has already pitched more innings this season than in each of the last 3. He has remained mostly injury free and has put up top of the rotation numbers in preparation for his free agency this winter. Sheets has never won more than 12 games in a season and is going for number 13 on Monday against the Mets. He is 4-2 with a 5.10 ERA in 7 starts vs. the Mets in his career. He was 2-3 with a 2.67 ERA in August of 2008.
Tuesday 8:05 ET: Jonathan Niese vs LHP Manny Parra (10-6, 4.00 ERA, 148.2 IP, 127K)
Niese makes his Mets debut on Tuesday night against lefty Manny Parra. Parra also pitched in that series back in April (against Nelson Figueroa) and took the loss at Shea. However, Parra has held is own in the middle of the Brewer rotation all season long. He was 1-2 with a 4.25 ERA in August of 2008 and lost his last start at St. Louis.
Wednesday 2:05 ET: Oliver Perez vs RHP Dave Bush (9-9, 4.12 ERA, 153 IP, 94K)
Perez makes 3 lefties in a row for the Mets in this series. He will be opposed by Dave Bush who has been very reliable in his last 5 starts going 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 34 innings pitched. Bush is 2-0 lifetime against the Mets, but has only made on career start against them in 2006 going 6 innings and allowing 3 ER.
Brewers Lineup (stats through Saturday's game)
1. Rickie Weeks - 2B - .228, 10 HR, 38 RBI, .333/.376/.709
Weeks has never been the leadoff hitter that Milwaukee wants him to be, but is still their most reliable option as a table setter. He is batting .268 with 3 HR and 15 RBI in his last 38 games, including a solo HR on Sunday vs. the Pirates.
2. JJ Hardy - SS - .289, 20 HR, 64 RBI, .352/.484/.836
After a slow start to the 2008 season, Hardy has picked it up after the All-Star break and has regained his #2 status in the lineup. In his last 14 games he is hitting .400 with 3 Hrs and 13 RBI.
3. Ryan Braun - LF - .299, 34 HR, 95 RBI, .341/.594/.935
Braun missed 7 starts in August due to rib cage injury, but seems to be feeling better over the past few series. He leads the team in almost every offense category as he continues to impress after his ROY win in 2007. After moving from 3B to LF this season, he has not made an error and has 8 OF assists. He leads the NL in Total Bases and Extra Base Hits.
4. Prince Fielder - 1B - .266, 28 HR, 80 RBI, .367/.490/.857
Prince has had a down year when compared to his 2007 when he finished 3rd in the NL MVP voting, but he is big, powerful and capable of driving the ball into Lake Michigan. Fielder hit a skid in August when he only hit .219 and had an OPS of .779. Though he did have 6 Hrs and 19 RBI, he had more strikeouts than hits (26/21). Prince Fielder and Carlos Delgado sport the exact same OPS+ of 122 through Saturday’s games.
5. Corey Hart - RF - .286, 20 HR, 81 RBI, .320/.500/.820
Voted as the 26th man to this year’s NL squad, Hart has taken the reigns in RF following the departure of Geoff Jenkins to Philly and the arrival of Mike Cameron in center. Corey had a very admirable 2007 campaign as well and provides a bit of speed. He hit .301 with 4 HR and 20 RBI in August 2008.
6. Mike Cameron - CF - .261, 24 HR, 64 RBI, .350/.535/.885
This will be the first time we see Cameron in a Milwaukee uni. He was serving his PED suspension during our last meeting. Mike is having a very good year by his standards and has 24 Hrs and 64 RBI in 97 games. He still strikes out too much, but also still patrols an admirable center field.
7. Bill Hall - 3B - .227, 15 HR, 51 RBI, .294/.409/.703
Hall has not yet been able to match the success of his 2006 season and is having his worst offensive season since 2004. He made 12 starts in August 2008 through Saturday and hit .208 with 1 HR and 7 RBI.
8. Jason Kendall - C - .255, 1 HR, 41 RBI, .334/.329/.663
Kendall has made the most starts of any ML catcher this season, however, I would not expect him to start all 3 against the Mets. He has hit safely in 14 of his last 17 games, but is not a threat to hit the longball. He has thrown out 39.2% of runners attempting to steal on him this year compared to only 10.5% last season.
Brewer Bench:
Milwaukee will likely have several September call ups this week as well, but lately, their bench consists of:
INF Craig Counsel - .232, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 3 SB
2B Ray Durham - .285, 4 HR, 38 RBI, 8 SB (14/56 in 21 games since joining Milwaukee)
OF Gabe Kapler - .300, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 3 SB
C Mike Rivera - .316, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 2 SB
OF Laynce Nix - .083, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB (Replaced Russell Branyan on 8/13/08, Branyan is on DL with oblique strain)
Brewer Bullpen:
Milwaukee has had one of the best NL bullpens this year with a 3.86 ERA. Their starters have combined for 10 complete games (double the amount of any other NL team) which has allowed their bullpen to stay fresh down the stretch. CC Sabathia pitched a complete game on Sunday.
Eric Gagne - 4-2, 6.23 ERA in 38 appearances
Gegna was set to be the Brewers closer in 2008 after they did not resign Francisco Cordero. Gagne has battled injuries and control issues this season and is currently used in a setup role. He has allowed 4 ER in 7.1 IP in August 2008.
Seth McClung - 5-5, 4.55 ERA in 29 appearances (11 starts)
McClung has been shuffled back and forth between the rotation and bullpen this season. He has made his last 7 appearances in relief and has a 10.50 ERA in that span.
Guillermo Mota - 4-5, 4.44 ERA in 47 appearances
Milwaukee has felt our Mota-pain for most of this season, but he has been very reliable in his past 13 appearances where he sports a 0.71 ERA in 12.2 IP. His last 10 appearances have been scoreless.
David Riske - 1-2, 4.61 ERA in 42 appearances
Riske took the Brewers last loss on Wednesday vs. the Cardinals giving up 3 ER in a third of an inning. He has given up 10 ER in his past 20 IP.
Brian Shouse - 4-1, 2.33 ERA in 62 appearances
Shouse is the lone lefty in the Milwaukee pen and along with Torres has been their workhorse this season. He allowed one ER in August while pitching 9.2 innings.
Salomon Torres - 6-3, 2.54 ERA in 59 appearances, 26 saves in 32 opportunities
Torres had his best month of 2008 in August with 9 appearances and a 0.84 ERA in 10.2 IP. He has been the Brewers closer since Eric Gagne lost the job. Since 2004, no ML reliever has made more appearances than Torres (371). He has pitched 2 innings on 12 occasions this season.
Ex-Mets Brewers:
Mike Cameron
Guillermo Mota
Ex-Brewers Mets:
Matt Wise (DL)
Jose Valentin (DL)
Robinson Cancel
Raul Casanova
Nelson Figueroa
Claudio Vargas
Brady Clark (who?)
The Mets and Brewers have split the past 3 season series, which bodes well for the Mets taking 2 of 3 for this series. Historically, the Mets are 46-27 (.630) vs the Brewers. Since joining the NL, the Brewers have only once finished with a better overall record than the Mets (2003 when they were both cellar dwellars).
I am hoping to end my personal streak of walkoff wins by the Brewers in games I personally attend this week. My last two Mets games at Miller Park were the [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200605140.shtml]Mother’s Day Massacre[/url] in 2006 and [url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL200707310.shtml]Glavine’s failed attempt at 300 wins[/url] in 2007. I’ll be at the two gay dames this week, Monday with the fam and Wednesday with friends (Brewers fans friends).
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