The Mets open a series at Philly tonight after a forgettable series with the Marlins. The Calender has officially flipped to May, and the Mets are three games below five hundred and will be playing the second place team in the division. The Mets need to find a spark or something to actually score runs deep into games and get their hitting and pitching on sync. Tonight they will face Chan Ho Park as we send up Pelfrey in, not a crucial game, but important to get our record and our game back on track.
Pelfrey has struggled for most of the season but he had a good outing his last time out where pitched 5.2 innings, 2 ER, 3 BB, K. On the season he is still 2-0 with a 6.32 ERA, 15.2 innings pitched, 9 BB and 6 K. Last season against the Phillies he went 1-1 over 3 games and had a 4.24 ERA. Here are the numbers the Phillies have put up against him over the years:
Howard 2-9
Utley 3-11, 2B, 2 HR
Victorino 3-9
Dobbs 4-8, HR
Coste 1-6
Werth 1-6
This lineup is a tough one but hopefully Pelfrey can prevail. If he can hold down the Phillies, their pen has been struggling, so he could sneak away with one, that of course is if the Mets can actually score some runs behind him.
Park has really struggled with the Phillies so far this season. He has no record over 4 games of work, 3 starts, has a 7.16 ERA over 16.1 IP, 5 BB and 10 K. In 2008 against the Mets he pitched 6.1 innings over two games (no starts) where he had a 1.42 ERA and 6 K. In his career against the Mets he is 5-3, 2.44 ERA and 73.2 ERA. Here are the numbers the Mets have against him:
Beltran 4-14, HR
Castillo 4-15
Tatis 5-10, 2 HR
Delgado 3-5, 2 2B, 2 BB
Wright 2-5
You probably have heard this, and if you watch the game tonight you will here this, but I'll say it anyway. Tatis has hit two grandslams off of Park and they both were in the same inning. Thats right, Park was still in the game and the same inning the next time Tatis got up and he did it again (the only time that has ever happened in baseball). The key for the Mets tonight is to not stop scoring runs because the Phils pen is weak, and with that the Phils have still won games because they slug it out in the end. Lets go Mets! Use those Bats!
