After a trip that didn’t really go the way the Mets had hoped in Milwaukee, they will now play three at the National League’s best team (record-wise), the San Diego Padres.
No, that’s not a typo, the San Diego Padres at 30-20 own the NL’s best record and are tied with the Cardinals for the lowest team ERA in baseball at 2.95.
It has been some kind of season for San Diego, as they’ve quietly done a terrific job of winning games with a lineup that doesn’t strike a whole lot of fear. To prove that statement, the Padres are 26th in baseball in hitting with a .242 team batting average.
For the Mets, they may believe it or not have an advantage in this game.
First off, they’re playing in a park similar to their’s at Citi Field. PETCO Park has an extremely cavernous outfield, and is probably right with Citi Field as the two toughest hitting parks in baseball. The Mets at Citi Field this season are 19-9, so they should be used to playing fine baseball at these types of stadiums.
Also, they will be throwing Hisanori Takahashi, who hasn’t allowed a single run so far in his first two starts. In each of his starts against the Yankees and Phillies, he allowed zero runs on five hits.
These are two teams who arguably own the best lineups in baseball. So, for Takahashi, he shouldn’t have a problem pitching at a Citi Field-style ballpark and against a weak-hitting Padres team.
The Padres will pitch Kevin Correia. It is absolutely amazing that he’s even pitched to a 4.03 ERA and 4-4 record after the tragedy that happened to his brother, who lost his life falling off a cliff while hiking earlier in the season.
Correia hasn’t pitched as lights-out as his fellow starters, but a four ERA isn’t bad and especially after what he’s gone through, so it’ll still be a tough test for the Mets to try and hit him.
What’s happened, though, all of a sudden is, the Mets are starting to have guys come through in big ways offensively. Jose Reyes has been on a tear since May 22, going 17-for-33 (.515) through yesterday’s Mets win. Jeff Francoeur has possibly snapped out of his slump with a couple of good games in Milwaukee, including a four-hit game yesterday.
The big bat to look out for in the Padres’ lineup is Adrian Gonzalez, the first baseman. There were rumors going back to last season’s trade deadline that the Padres were interested in trading Gonzalez, perhaps to the Red Sox but that clearly won’t happen now with the Padres being a first-place team on Memorial Day.
So here we go, the first-place Padres and the hard-working Mets going at it for three in Southern California, starting on Memorial Day.
Can the Mets go back home having won two? That’s why we watch the games, and if they’d like to do that, it’ll behoove them to win tonight.
Hisanori Takahashi as a starter in 2010 (2 starts)
1-0, 0.00 ERA, 12 IP, 10 H, 1 BB, 11 SO
Kevin Correia vs. New York (career)
0-3, 1.63 ERA, 27.2 IP, 26 H, 7 BB, 21 SO
2009 season series (New York vs. San Diego)
Padres won series 5-2
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