…as Kevin Burkhardt pointed out on Twitter, the last game just doesn’t have the same feel as it had the past couple of seasons…

Nelson Figueroa (2-8, 4.70 ERA) will start for the Mets.  He is finishing  2009 on a good note, despite not winning, as he has put together two consecutive starts allowing four runs in 13 innings. He is making his third career start and eighth appearance against the Astros, and is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA lifetime against them.

Wilton Lopez (0-1, 9,42 ERA) will start for the Astros. Lopez is making his second start of the year today and in seven appearances has only 14 1/3 innings on his Major League resume. He lost his first career start on September 29 against the Phillies when he was roughed up for five runs in just 3 2/3 innings.

For a full recap and box score, click here.

The Least You Should Know:

Pat Misch pitched well once again today, going five innings and allowing a run on five hits to the Astros before the rain came in the top of the sixth inning forcing an end to his day and season, but earning his third victory of the year – all in September.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Carlos Lee made a great sliding backhanded catch which, at the time, saved a couple of runs for the Astros.

In that fourth inning, Josh Thole broke out of a 1 for 22 funk with his first career triple and Mets’ 48th triple of the year which is the new franchise mark for triples in a season.

Fernando Tatis drove in two runs with a two out single in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Sean Green walked three batters in 1 2/3 innings forcing a save situation with two outs in the ninth inning, and Francisco Rodriguez nailed down his 35th save of the year.

Other Observations and Notes:

Tatis is enjoying a six game hitting streak, and he is 11 for 22 over that stretch with three doubles, one home run, and six RBI.

Today was a 2004 Mets redux by the Astros as former Met Jeff Keppinger and Kaz Matsui were in the lineup for Houston today.

Cheers to the fans that stuck around during and after the rain delay – they were allowed to move to the first rows behind the dugout to watch the game.

Up Next:

The Mets will play their final game of the 2009 season tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 pm at Citi Field, with Nelson Figueroa facing Wilton Lopez.

Carlos Beltran has been scratched from today’s lineup, and Jerry Manuel said that it is simply to give him a break the day after a night game.

The new lineup is:

Angel Pagan, followed in order by Luis Castillo, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, Cory Sullivan, Fernando Tatis, Josh Thole, and Anderson Hernandez.

…not sure why he was in the lineup to begin with if that’s the case…

Original Post:

The Mets (68-92) continue their series with the Astros (74-86) this afternoon at 1:10 pm at Citi Field.

David Wright will have the afternoon off, and Fernando Tatis will take his place at third base.

Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, Josh Thole, Tatis, and Anderson Hernandez.

Pat Misch (2-4, 4.71 ERA) will start for the Mets. Misch is coming off of a brilliant complete game, eight hitter last Sunday in Miami as he looks to build some consistency going into the off-season.

Yorman Bazardo (1-2, 8.23 ERA) will start for the Astros. Bazardo is making his sixth start of the season, and he earned a victory against the Phillies on September 28, allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

For a full recap and box score, click here.

The Least You Should Know:

John Maine looked real solid tonight which is really encouraging for him – he went seven innings and struck out seven, and allowed a run on five hits and earned his seventh win of the season.

For the first time since last season, it seemed that Maine had life on every one of his pitches – he had great action on his off speed pitches and his fastball had great late movement.

The Mets pounded out 14 hits tonight, highlighted by Jeff Francoeur’s go ahead two run home run which scored David Wright in the sixth inning, and then they added four more runs in the eighth thanks to an Omir Santos RBI single, an Anderson Hernandez sacrifice fly that scored Fernando Tatis and a Daniel Murphy pinch hit two run home run.

Other Observations and Notes:

It’s games like this that I wish we could have seen more of in 2009 – not so much the convincing win but a well played game with solid hitting, good defense and good pitching.

I think at this point, in the midst of such a disasterous season, we as fans should look for positives from the pieces we think should be part of the solution for the future, and if Maine is a part of that solution, then it was a very encouraging night for the Mets.

Let the Daniel Murphy debate continue – he certainly has made a case for himself from an offensive stand point lately.

Up Next:

The Mets will look to win their final series of the season tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 pm, with Pat Misch facing Yorman Bazardo.

…the Mets would have to sweep the Astros to avoid finishing below .500 at home for the first time since 2004…

Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jeff Francoeur, Fernando Tatis, Omir Santos, and Anderson Hernandez.

John Maine (6-6, 4.72 ERA) will start for the Mets.

Wandy Rodriguez (14-11, 2.97 ERA) will start for the Astros.

For a full recap and box score, click here.

The Least You Should Know:

Mike Pelfrey was handed a 3-0 lead, he retired the first seven batters he faced, but had to wiggle out of minor trouble in the third inning.  Pelfrey ran into real trouble in the fifth inning when he allowed a two run home run to Ian Desmond and then Ryan Zimmerman singled in Willie Harris and Elijah Dukes to tie the game for the Nationals.

The Mets had a chance in the eighth inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out, but Brian Schneider popped up for the first out, and then Jeremy Reed lined into an inning ending double play.

Of course the Mets paid for their inefficiencies at the plate in the bottom of the eighth, thanks to a comedy of errors by their middle infielders, starting with a poor flip by Anderson Hernandez to Luis Castillo on a routine double play ground ball, and ending with an air-mailed throw by Castillo to first base that scored Justin Maxwell for the go-ahead run.

Elijah Dukes made a spectacular catch to end the game for the Nationals on a missile hit by David Wright with Angel Pagan on with two outs.

Other Observations and Notes:

The Mets find very creative ways to lose games, but it always seems to come down to a lack of fundamentals…tonight being a prime example of that.

The Mets once again had a ton of base runners, but managed to end their own threats with poor situational hitting and bad luck.

I thought Anderson Hernandez was supposed to be a defensive oriented player – but the error on the routine double play in the eighth inning makes me wonder about his usefulness.

This was definitely one of Pelfrey’s better performances this year despite not earning the victory – he had good action on his sinker when he was pitching out of the windup, and outside of a rough fifth inning, mainly scattered hits before coming out of the game.

I am waiting for Pedro Feliciano to make a pitch, and have his arm fall off – this guy pitches every day and he has been splendid all year.

Up Next:

The Mets will end the road portion of their schedule tomorrow afternoon at 4:35 pm with the conclusion of their series against the Nationals, with Tim Redding facing John Lannan.

Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Luis Castillo David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, Brian Schneider, and Wilson Valdez.

Mike Pelfrey (10-12, 5.08 ERA) will start for the Mets.  He last faced the Nationals on September 18 at Citi Field and took the loss, allowing five runs in seven innings.  He’s 1-2 in three starts with a 4.12 ERA against Washington this season.

J.D. Martin (5-4, 4.71 ERA) will start for the Nationals. Martin earned the win against the Mets on September 18, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings. He made one prior start against the Mets earlier this season, and is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA against them this season.

For a full recap and box score, click here.

The Least You Should Know:

Nelson Figueroa pitched well once again but took the loss, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings, and is 0-5 in September.

The Mets had runners in scoring position in six of the first seven innings, and managed just one run against Ross Detwiller, who earned his first Major League Victory.

Other Observations and Notes:

I’m not clear on why Luis Castillo swung at the first pitch with two outs and nobody on in the ninth inning.

The Mets lost for the 50th time on the road tonight, and it’s the first time that has happened since 1993 when the team lost 103 games.

I was so happy to find out that Gary Cohen actually had long hair when he was young.

Up Next:

The Mets will try and even their series against the Nationals tomorrow night when they send Mike Pelfrey to face J.D. Martin.

Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Luis Castillo, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jeff Francoeur, Fernando Tatis at first base, Omir Santos, and Anderson Hernandez.

Nelson Figueroa (2-7, 4.88 ERA) will start for the Mets. Figueroa pitched a dandy of a game his last time out on September 22 against Atlanta, going seven innings while allowing two runs on just two hits. This will be Figueroa’s first start against the Nationals this year.

Ross Detweiler (0-6, 5.71 ERA) will start for the Nationals. Detweiler will be making his 13th start of the season tonight, still in search for his first career victory. He has allowed just four runs in his last three starts over 12 2/3 innings, but is 0-1 with two no decisions to show for it.

David Wright will have the afternoon off.

Angel Pagan will lead off, followed in order by Anderson Hernandez, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, Cory Sullivan, Fernando Tatis at third base, Josh Thole, and Wilson Valdez.

Pat Misch (1-4, 5.59 ERA) will start for the Mets. Since Misch earned the victory against the Rockies on September 3, he is 0-3 with a 12.41 ERA. His only start of the year against the Marlins wasn’t pretty either, allowing five earned runs in six innings on September 9.

Chris Volstad (9-12, 5.17 ERA) will start for the Marlins. Volstad is taking the place of Josh Johnson, who was scratched with the flu. Volstad last faced the Mets on May 31 at Citi Field and pitched well in a loss, allowing three runs in seven innings.

…i’d say thats a break for the Mets, considering Johnson is 7-0 with a 2.30 ERA lifetime against them…