Following last evening’s heroics off of former Met-Heath Bell, the Mets now have something to build on to make one last-ditch effort at a run for the wild card. As the rain falls in Flushing though, the Amazin’s will also be hoping that not only fate, but mother nature will be on their side to get this one in tonight.
If there is baseball tonight, Chris Capuano will get the start for the Mets and will square off against fellow southpaw Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc, starting tonight for the injured Dustin Moseley, has just one career start against the Amazin’s in which he pitched well, dealing 5 1/3 innings allowing 2 runs, but took the loss. The 27-year old Louisiana native struggled to start the year, going 0-2 with a 4.98 ERA before getting sent down. He will now get an extended period of time to start at the major league level again with Moseley going down for the year.
Photo Taken By Michael Baron
After yet another quality start from Capuano against the Marlins last week, the Mets will hope for his recent success to continue tonight against the Padres. The 33-year old hurler is 4-2 against the Friars in his career with a solid 3.29 ERA to match. Capuano will look to earn his 10th win of the season tonight, a feat he has not accomplished since 2006 when he was with the Brewers.
Some notable players for this evening’s ballgame include: Jason Bay, who continued to stay hot last night, belting his third homer of this homestand, leading many to raise the question: Has Bay finally regained his old form? David Wright, who busted out of a slump yesterday with a 2-5 performance with a home run, 3 RBIs and not to mention scoring the winning run in the 9th inning. Wright is also 3-3 with a homer in his career against LeBlanc, so keep an eye on him tonight. Kyle Blanks, who not only had a 2-3 performance last night, but the 6’6″ Blanks is also 8-for-21 this past week with two homers and seven RBIs. Finally, Jason Bartlett has not only been hot with the glove, but is also 8 for his last 24 with seven RBIs.
Here is tonight’s lineup, notice Lucas Duda placed right back in that cleanup spot following his walk-off knock yesterday:
#bbpBox_101002393256345600 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_101002393256345600 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }Tuesday Mets lineup vs. the Padres: Pagan-CF, Turner-2B, Wright-3B, Duda-1B, Bay-LF, Hairston-RF, Paulino-C, Tejada-SS, Capuano-LHP
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Capuano will have to be spot on tonight to keep the Mets in this one, facing a Padres lineup that has scored 43 runs in their past four games. If the Amazin’s have any minute hope of a playoff-run, nothing short of a four-game sweep is necessary in order to have a chance, so tonight could be a make-or-break ballgame for the New York Mets 2011 season.
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