Holding the opposing team to two runs usually means you have a great chance to win — particularly when playing at a hitter-friendly park such as Citzens Bank. Unless, of course, you are facing Roy Halladay.
This was the game that — on paper — was the Mets’ best chance to win out of the three-game series.
Tonight’s Mets lineup against Phillies pitcher Vance Worley:
Jose Reyes – SS
Daniel Murphy – 2B
David Wright – 3B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Jason Bay – LF
Ike Davis – 1B
Josh Thole – C
Jason Pridie – CF
Mike Pelfrey – RHP
Worley pitched very well in two starts for Philly last year, and he posted a 2.78 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 25 Ks in 22 IP through 4 starts in AAA this year. His name sounds like it could be a brand of vacuum cleaners, no?
According to the Mets PR Department, Ronny Paulino has been promoted from AAA Buffalo and activated from the disabled list. Paulino is available to play in tonight’s ballgame against the Phillies. He will wear uniform #9.
To make room on the roster for Paulino, catcher Mike Nickeas has been demoted to Buffalo.
I’m kind of sad to see Nickeas go down. I know Joe didn’t love his form behind the plate but he seemed to do a great job of working with the pitchers and calling games. One has to wonder, for example, if Chris Capuano might have pitched better last night if Nickeas was catching instead of Josh Thole.
Toward that same end, it’s going to take Paulino a while to build a rapport with the Mets pitching staff. I’m sure Joe will comment on that in more detail in a future post. Otherwise, I’m anxious to see what Paulino can do with the bat against lefties.
Big test coming up for the Mets this weekend as they play the big bad Phillies. To get an idea of what’s going on with our phavorite team from Philadelphia, I called on fellow ESPN SweetSpot blogger Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley to give us the inside scoop.
By the way, I provided answers to Bill’s questions on his blog here.
My questions in bold, Bill’s answers in the blue boxes.
All good things must come to an end.
Not sure that this will affect his start tonight, but Livan Hernandez has been mentioned in a case against a drug dealer in Puerto Rico.
From the Miami Herald:
Vázquez Ayala was arrested after a seven-year investigation and was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute drugs in Puerto Rico. According to the source, Hernández’s name came up on various occasions when reviewing the properties linked to the drug trafficker.
Funny, I still have a subconscious urge to type “Expos” when I need to type “Nationals”. Go figure.
Here is tonight’s Mets lineup against Expos Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez.
Jose Reyes – SS
Daniel Murphy – 2B
David Wright – 3B
Carlos Beltran – RF
Jason Bay – LF
Ike Davis – 1B
Josh Thole – C
Willie Harris – CF
Chris Capuano – P
Looks like the matchup game, with Willie Harris in center. Can’t really argue with that choice, since Harris hasn’t been getting many at-bats lately and you need to keep the bench guys fresh. I might prefer Nickeas behind the plate since he and Capuano worked so well together five days ago, but I guess it’s more important to get Thole’s LH bat in the lineup.
