NewsWest-bound Mets face big test
New York (18-15) at San Francisco (18-15), 10:15 p.m. ET
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
05/13/09 9:02 PM ET
NEW YORK -- When the Mets boarded their charter flight to the West Coast on Wednesday evening, they began a seven-games-in-seven days excursion to the least hospitable sites in the National League. They are to play four games against the Giants in AT&T Park beginning Thursday and then three in Dodger Stadium, and the combined home record of the two California teams was 26-8 when the Mets took off.And before they return to Citi Field on May 25, they will play three games in Fenway Park, where most visiting teams haven't fared well this season.
"A good early-season test," is how David Wright characterized the Mets' next 10 games. And no one argued.
Chances are they will play at least a few games -- and possibly all 10 -- without Carlos Delgado, who may be assigned to the disabled list before the Mets see a pitch from reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum on Friday night. And it won't get a whole lot easier after that. The Mets face Randy Johnson on Saturday afternoon -- he opposes Johan Santana -- and Matt Cain on Sunday.
"We have to play out there now," Carlos Beltran said. "And both teams are playing decent right now. We have to go there and play the best baseball. It's not an easy roadtrip. This trip will test us." The Mets won half their six games in San Francisco and Los Angeles last year. But the coast has traditionally been a problem for them. They lost all four games in San Diego last year.
"But I think we came together as a team in L.A. in 2006," Wight said. "You can't tell. Every year is different."
Pitching matchupNYM: RHP John Maine (3-2, 4.54 ERA)
Maine managed to hold the Pirates to one run in six innings Saturday. He was not particularly pleased with the outing, which lasted 102 pitches, but Maine is a difficult man to please. He will look for improvement against the Giants, a team he held to a .214 average in 10 2/3 innings last season, and to whom he has never lost in three career starts. The eight players on the Giants roster who have faced Maine have produced a .140 in 43 at-bats against him.
SF: LHP Jonathan Sanchez (1-3, 4.78 ERA)
Sanchez has made one quality start in five tries, so he needs some instant results. He produced a 9.00 ERA and pitched merely nine innings in his two most recent starts. The good news for Sanchez is that he's returning home, where he hasn't yielded an earned run in 11 2/3 innings this season. He has surrendered two unearned runs in two starts at AT&T Park. Sanchez has made four appearances against the Mets in his career, posting a 2-1 record and a 3.55 ERA. No current Met has faced him more than seven times. Sanchez is to be the sixth lefty starter the Mets face in 18 games. They faced none in their first 15.
Tidbits
The Mets optioned Jon Niese to their Triple-A Buffalo affiliate following his start against the Braves on Wednesday. They purchased the contract of Nelson Figueroa from the same club. The move was announced after the team had left for the airport and there was no word whether Figueroa would replace Niese in the rotation and/or start against the Dodgers on Monday night. Figueroa has made one big league appearance this season. He was the losing pitcher at Citi Feld April 19 when the Mets lost, 4-2, to the Brewers. He allowed five hits and three runs in six innings. He has an 0-3 record and 2.57 ERA in five starts and 28 innings with the light-hitting Buffalo team.
Fernando Tatis hit the second pitch thrown by reliever Buddy Carlyle over the Citi sign in straightaway center, just where the height of the outfield wall drops from 16 feet to 10 feet, 10 inches. "I didn't see where it went," he said. "But I guess I hit to the perfect place. ... Francisco Rodriguez made his second successive non-save situation appearance in less than 24 hours. He pitched three innings in the two appearances and said he'd be fine to pitch Thursday in San Francisco. ... Three members of a family from Winfield, N. J., visited with David Wright before the game. Their names: David Wright Sr., David Wright Jr. and David Wright III.
This date in Mets history -- May 14: Art Shamsky delivered two runs with a triple in a three-run rally in the third inning, and Nolan Ryan struck out 14 in a complete game in the Mets' 3-2 victory against Reds at Shea Stadium on this date in 1968. Alex Johnson, who loved the challenge of a fastball, struck out three times. Tony Perez loved that challenge, too, and he hit two home runs. ... A grand slam by Cleon Jones against George Stone was the critical hit in an eight-run rally in the eighth inning that secured a 9-3 Mets victory against the Braves at Shea on May 14, 1969. ... The A-Mays-in' Mets were born two years later. Willie Mays made his Mets debut on Mother's Day and hit a game-winning home run against Don Carrithers in the fifth inning of a 5-4 Mets victory against the Giants at Shea. Rusty Staub had hit a grand slam off Sam McDowell in the first inning.
Hubie Brooks hit a grand slam off Eric Nolte in the third inning, providing the decisive runs in the Mets' 6-1 victory at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego on this date in 1991. ... Three years later, Ryan Thompson hit a grand slam off John Smoltz in the fifth inning of the Mets' 11-4 victory against the Braves at Shea. After Thompson Cadillac'ed around the bases, Smoltz hit John Cangelosi for the second time in two plate appearances, prompting a benches-clearing incident with the photo ending up on the cover of Sports Illustrated, contradicting Charlie O'Brien's claim that he was involved. ... And on May 14, 2000, Mike Piazza hit a grand slam an Mike Hampton threw a no-walk complete game in the Mets' 5-1 victory against the Marlins at Shea.
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• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español) Up next
• Friday: Mets (Livan Hernandez, 3-1, 5.08) at Giants (Tim Lincecum, 3-1, 3.25), 10:15 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Mets (Johan Santana, 4-2, 0.78) at Giants (Randy Johnson, 3-3, 5.89), 4:10 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 4-0, 4.89) at Giants (Matt Cain, 3-1, 3.00), 8 p.m. ET
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
