The Mets open up their world class home tonight as the Padres come to town for a special night at Citi Field. The game tonight features Pelfrey vs Walter Silva (more on him later) but more importantly it features the Mets new field, its wierd tendencies, and (as many of us have heard) amazing food. The Mets had a good, not great, but not bad, road trip at 3-3 and are ready to use that home team support (yes support, in other words do NOT boo tonight, please) as they start off a homestand against the Padres who have jumped out of the gate with a record of 5-2 and a first place spot in the West.
The Mets will be facing Walter Silva tonight. If you have never heard of him before, thats because this is the first year he is playing ball in America. He has had four seasons I believe in the Mexican league and this year made it to the Padres starting lineup. In his last outing, he didn't get a decision, lasted 5 innings, allowed 5 hits, allowed 2 runs (earned), walked 4 and struck out 1. This spring he was 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA over 11 innings and three games where he allowed 6 ER, walked 2 and struck out 5. Last year in Mexico he posted a 7-8 record with a 4.21 ERA, 115.1 innings pitched, 49 BB, 60 K. He is unknown to the Mets and we will see tongiht for the first time in 2009 how the Mets will deal with an unknown pitcher.
The Pitcher that is going for hte Mets tonight knows the Padres, and is a pretty big fan of them when it comes to facing them. Last year Pelfrey was 1-0 in two games against the Padres with a 2.13 ERA. He pitched 12.2 IP, walked 4 and struck out 4. Even with those numbers, the batting numbers against Pelfrey are a little surprising:
Gerut 4-7
Giles 1-4
Gonzalez 1-5, HR
Kouzmanhoff 2-6, HR
You would think with his record against the Padres, that these numbers would be a little more favorable. I am very curious to see how Big Pelf pitches in Big Citi Field. With all of that space, his weakness, the longball, is going to be taken away to some degree and could be very favorable (or not, you never know until it happens). This is a big night for the Mets as they open a stadium for the third time in their franchise and open a new stadium for the second time. Lets make it happen tonight! Lets Go Mets!
