avatar

preGame: Mets at Cubs (Game One)

by Mike Nichols on April 21st, 2008 at 5:41 pm

The Game:

The Mets (10-7) begin a quick two-game series against the Cubs (12-6) tonight at Wrigley Field in Chicago, starting at 7:05 pm EST.

The Lineup:

…Brian Schneider is out of tonight’s lineup due to a bruised forearm he suffered on April 19…

…i’m not one to nitpick about lineups, but i already miss church batting second…however, when going right, castillo is perfect in the second hole…

…a second straight start for endy in left…i’m sure Willie Randolph is trying to get endy going this season, but perhaps he is also curious to see how Angel Pagan handles coming off the bench with Moises Alou‘s impending return…

The Pitchers:

RHP John Maine (1-1, 3.78 ERA) starts for the Mets. Maine earned a win in his last versus the Nationals, allowing two runs on five hits and four walks over 6.2 IP. In four appearances, three starts, versus the Cubs, Maine is 0-2 with a 5.17 ERA.

RHP Carlos Zambrano (2-1, 3.04 ERA) takes the hill for the Cubs. In his last start versus the Reds on April 16, Zambrano allowed two runs on eight hits while walking a batter and striking out five over 7.0 IP. Zambrano earned a no-decision in his last start versus the Mets on August 3, allowing one run in 5.0 IP, surrendering two hits and seven walks while striking out five. Zambrano is 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA in six games, five starts versus the Mets in his career.

..so far this season maine’s control has been reminiscent of 2006, but he seemed to conquer that a bit after a rough first inning in his last start after…with the Mets bullpen overworked after their weekend series against the Phillies and the next off day not scheduled until May 1, i’m looking to maine emerge from his strong spring and provide the Mets with a quality start…

The Notes:

The Mets bullpen has a 1.64 ERA in its last 22.0 IP and leads the majors with a .203 batting average against.

Jose Reyes is batting .348 (15-for-43) with 2 HR and 7 RBI in the Mets 10 wins compared to .208 (5-for-24) with 2 RBI in the Mets seven losses this season.

David Wright is batting .182 with 2 RBI in 11 career at-bats versus Zambrano.

Derrek Lee is 24-for-59 (.407) with 6 HR, 16 RBI in his last 14 games.

For more insight on the Cubs, check out Blogger Beat.

How To Catch It:

Tonight’s game can be seen locally on and nationally on ESPN and heard locally on WFAN.

The Bleachers:

For a live chat, head over to The Hot Foot Bleachers.

…curious to see how the team handles the loss coming out of an intense series against the Phillies…hopefully it was just a bump in the road and they keep rolling…

…enjoy, and as always, Let’s Go Mets…