Due to a prior commitment, I will not be able to update this preview based on what happens in the first game this afternoon, so here it goes. The Mets will finish of their day with a night cap on ESPN with an amazing pitching matchup as the ace of the Mets, Johan Santana, takes on the ace of the Phillies, Cole Hamels.
Santana is having a great year, and the Mets need him tonight. He is 12-7 over 29 games, 196.0 innings, has 51 walks and struck out 169 batters so far. Today, he should go over 200 innings, and be the first Met to do that this year. In his last five games, he is 3-0 with 7 walks, 34 strikouts and has a very nice 2.06 ERA. Here are some Philly stats against him:
Feliz 2-16, 5 K
Stairs 4-15
Burrell 5-14, 2 2B
Rollins 1-13
Utley 2-14, HR
Howard 4-11, HR
Santana has handled the lineup pretty well so far this year. This is a big game though, Santana, a big game pitcher, will really need to help out the Mets tonight as they conclude their battle with Philly.
Hamels is going for the Phils tonight and he is also having a great year, Already having surpassed 200 innings pitched, he is 12-8 with a 3.01 ERA on the season. In his last five games, he is 3-0 over 36.1 innings, and a 1.49 ERA. I saw his last start on TV against the Nationals and he got in trouble early. It looked like the Nationals were gonna be able to put up runs fast, but thanks to running mistakes, they turned one out into two outs. So Hamels is hittable right now, and the Mets will have to figure him out, and these are their numbers against him:
Church 4-17, 2B
Reyes 3-15
Beltran 4-15, 2 HR
Wright 5-15, 2 2B, 3B, HR
Delgado 4-12, 2B, HR
The two guys that need to perform tonight are Beltran and Wright. They can see the ball well from Hamels and a lot of people on the team cannot. They also have good power numbers against him. The mission is set, knock around Hamels, break up his confidence, and beat the Phils. Lets Go Mets!
