|
Mets v. Braves (May 20-22)
The Mets visit Atlanta for a four game series; the doubleheader on Tuesday includes a regularly scheduled game and a makeup of the April 4 rainout.
Recent:
The Braves took 2 of 3 from Oakland this weekend at home after a poor road-trip where they dropped 3 of 4 at Pittsburgh and 2 of 3 at Philadelphia. Such has been the season for the Braves this year: they own the league's best home record (16-5) and worst road record (6-16). Braves are in 4th place, 1 game back of the Mets and Phillies, 2 games back of the Marlins. The Braves have the second best ERA in the NL (3.56 to Arizona's 3.55) but have a inconsistent offense.
Vs. Mets, 2008:
2-3.
Braves took 2 at Turner Field the first weekend of the season. They beat up on John Maine and the bullpen in the first game, an 11-5 win. In the second game, Smoltz and the Braves 'pen outpitched Santana to a 3-1 win, in what was probably the Mets' second worst offensive performance this year.
In the second series, at Shea at the end of April, the Mets took two of three. Jair Jurrjens walked in 3 runs in the third inning of the first game but held the Mets otherwise and Pelfrey had a poor outing. Game #2 of the series was the game where the Mets got 4 runs off Hudson in the third inning, at which time Hudson was pulled. Maine and 4 innings of bullpen work held the Braves off for a 4-3 Mets win. The final game was a 6-3 Mets win where the Mets hit Smoltz hard and Figueroa was good for 5 innings before turning into a pumpkin. Delgado had 2 homers that Sunday.
Pitching Matchups:
Tuesday, Game 1: John Maine vs. Tom Glavine (L)
Glavine's first start against the Mets since going back to Atlanta; nobody here needs a suggestion as to what we'd like to do to Glavine in this game. Glavine is 1-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 7 starts this year. Since coming off the DL (he missed a pair of starts) Glavine has alternated good outings with bad outings, his last 2 being 7 innings, 5 hits and 2 runs at Pittsburgh, where he got a no-decision and 5 2/3 at Philly with 4 runs (although Glavine got his first win).
Tuesday, Game 2: Claudio Vargas vs. Jorge Campillo (R)
Campillo was property of the Mariners' system for the past 3 years and was signed to a minor league contract by the Braves in the off-season. He has been doing an excellent job as the Braves' long man this year. In 13 appearances, he as a 1.27 ERA in 21 1/3 innings, 16 hits (no homers), 5 walks and 17 Ks. This will be his first major league start since 2005. In his second major league game ever, Campillo started for the Mariners against the Tigers on August 2, 2005. He left with a strained elbow after only 1 inning, an injury that required Tommy John surgery.
Wednesday: Mike Pelfrey vs. Jair Jurrjens (R)
This will be a rematch of the April 25 game that the Mets lost. Jurrjens was acquired from Detroit in the off-season for Edgar Renteria. He's 22 years old and is having an excellent season so far: 4-3, 2.82 ERA. 45 hits (only 1 of which was a home run), 20 walks and 44 Ks in 54 1/3 innings. Apparently Jurrjens has a in-stadium fan club known as [url=http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/04/03/new-fan-club-recognizes-jair-jurrjens-surgical-nature/]"Jurrjens' Surgeons[/url]. Wednesday's game is an ESPN broadcast for the out-of-towners.
Thursday: Johan Santana vs. Tim Hudson (R)
This will be the Mets third time seeing Hudson this year. He is 6-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 10 starts (61 2/3 innings). Aside from the game against the Mets when Cox lifted him after 3 innings, his only other start of less than 6 innings was last Saturday, when he gave up 5 runs in 5 innings to the Athletics. Hudson gave up 2 homers in that start, only the second and third home runs he's given up this year.
Trivia time: Tim Hudson has 141 career wins, which is 12th on the active players* leaderboard. Who's ahead of him?
*Defined as having pitched in a Major League game in 2008.
Braves Lineup:
Yunel Escobar, SS
4-19-.308, .385 OBP
Mark Kotsay, CF
3-19-.301, .354 OBP
Chipper Jones, 3B
Larry is hitting .410 with 11 homers, 32 RBIs and has an OPS of 1.154. No, those are not typos.
Mark Teixeira, 1B
5-21-.247, .335 OBP. Teixeira is a free agent at the end of the year and could conceivably even be traded at the break if the Braves struggle. You could probably get 2-1 odds that he'll be playing in New York next year, although which team will pay more is unclear.
Brian McCann, C
7-26-.316, .379 OPS.
Jeff Francoeur, RF
3-26-.263, .307 OBP. Has cut down on the Ks somewhat this year (only 25 in 175 ABs so far) but can still be counted on as a free-swinger.
Kelly Johnson, 2B
5-17-.278, .342 OBP.
Matt Diaz (vs. lefties)/ Gregor Blanco (vs. righties), LF
Straight platoon. Diaz: 2-14-.268, .284 OBP; Blanco 0-6-.308, .385 OBP.
Bench-n-Bullpen:
Backup catcher Corky Miller cannot hit.
Recent call-up Omar Infante has 7 hits in 22 ABs.
Ruben Gotay is hitting .231 with only 1 extra base hit.
The Braves bullpen is down several of their top relievers but currently has a 16-inning scoreless streak. Braves have only 6 saves and no reliever has more than 2.
Jeff Bennett (R): 35 innings (including 3 starts), 3.34 ERA, 29 hits/19 walks/22 Ks.
Blaine Boyer (R): 24 2/3 innings, 4.01 ERA, 19 hits/4 walks/27 Ks.
Manny Acosta (R): 20 2/3 innings, 3.48 ERA, 16 hits/12 walks/13 Ks.
Will Ohman (L) : 18 innings, 2.50 ERA, 17 hits/9 walks/14Ks.
Chris Resop (R): 13 2/3 innings, 5.93 ERA, 14 hits/7 walks/11 Ks.
Royce Ring (L): 7 innings, 6.43 ERA 7 hits, 2 walks/5 Ks
Injuries
John Smoltz is on the DL with an injured shoulder and it was initially announced that he would resume the role of closer once he came off the DL. Apparently, that may not be very soon, however: he's had pain while throwing during his rehab and could be out [url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3402740]for a while.[/url]
Rafael Soriano (elbow) has been out since early April but should be back in a few weeks.
Mike Gonzalez had Tommy John surgery last year and will begin a minor league rehab assignment in a week or two.
Peter Moylan had Tommy John surgery two weeks ago and won't be heard from until mid-2009.
Mike Hampton is still being paid on the contract he signed after leaving the Mets, to the tune of $15 million this year. All that's left is a $6 million buyout (which the Rockies are still on the hook for) and he'll be a free agent at the end of this year. He hasn't pitched in a major league game since August 19, 2005.
Ex-Braves:
None
Ex-Mets:
Glavine
Hampton
Gotay
Royce Ring
|
