The Mets will try to take the series with a win today over the Marlins. The Marlins were able to bounce back from a disappointing loss with a win last night, so the now the Mets will try to act like the Marlins. The pitching match up today will pit Scott Olsen of the Marlins against Pedro. This is the last game in August, lets win it and get ready for September baseball.
Scott Olsen is 6-8 this year over 27 games and a 4.19 ERA. However, he has been breaking down in the second half of the season. In August he is 0-2 over 5 games and 29.1 innings with a 4.91 ERA. His last win was on July 19th, since then he has gone 0-4 over 7 games and 41 IP posting an ERA of 5.27. One of his August losses were against the Mets where he gave up 5 runs over 5 innings. Here are some Mets numbers against him:
Reyes 12-28 (.429 BA), 4 2B, 3B, HR
Beltran 11-24 (.458 BA), 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI
Wright 8-26 (.308), 4 2B, 2 HR
Delgado 6-23, 2B, HR
The key here is that the heart of the Mets lineup not only hits well against Olsen, but hits hard against Olsen. So if the Mets can get on base, the heart of the lineup can get them home. That will be the story of the night for the offense. Can they get those runners home so that they can build a lead for the shaky pen. The pen will also need a good start from Pedro.
Pedro is still 4-3 over 15 games this year. His ERA is 5.22 but that doesn't tell the whole story. In August, he is 1-1 over 36.1 innings and an ERA of 3.96. For th emost part this year, he has been getting better as the year has been going on, and this is the time of the year the Mets need him to start performing. His first start this year when he got injured was against the Marlins. He gave up 4 runs over 3.1 innings before leaving. Here are some Marlin numbers against Pedro:
Gonzalez 17-46, 4 2B, 2 HR
Ramirez 2-12, 2B, 3B
Uggla 3-12, 3B, HR, 8 K
Jacobs 6-12, 3 3B, HR
Willingham 1-11, 7 K
The former Met, Mike Jacobs, has Pedro's number. Luckily, Pedro is a combined 4-23 with 15 strikeouts. So the key for Pedro is to keep the Marlins off the base paths and not allow them to get a rally started. That, plus a good pen, will allow the Mets to march to victory. Did I mention that a sturdy pen will lead them to victory?
Lets Go Mets! Take this series!
