NewsMets, Johan host new-look Redbirds
New York (50-55) vs. St. Louis (58-50), 7:10 p.m. ET
By Tim Britton / MLB.com
08/03/09 11:29 PM ET
NEW YORK -- Things were a little different the last time the Cardinals visited Citi Field. St. Louis sported a lineup that included, alternately, Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel in the cleanup spot. The Mets were just getting over the loss of Carlos Beltran and were still hopeful that, by the start of the season's second half, they would get some of their stars back. But it's the Cardinals who have added pieces to their lineup in the intervening six weeks. The Mets, meanwhile, have been left in limbo waiting for Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and seemingly, Godot. The Mets managed to take three of four from the Cardinals then; it was their best series in an otherwise forgettable June. They will look to relocate that success in a two-game set after dropping three of four to the D-backs. The Cardinals that take the field on Tuesday have a distinctly different look from the one the Mets faced in June, thanks to two midseason trades. First, St. Louis added Mark DeRosa from the Indians to man the hot corner. DeRosa, after a rough start and stint on the disabled list, has seven home runs in his past 14 games. Of course, the Cardinals' major move in late July was to nab outfielder and cleanup hitter Matt Holliday from the Athletics to finally lend Albert Pujols legitimate protection in the lineup. All Holliday has done in his 10 games with St. Louis is hit .526 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. The two additions have given a previously one-dimensional Cardinals offense some depth. It still hasn't hit full stride, though, as Pujols has surprisingly struggled since Holliday was added to the lineup. Pujols has batted just .200 in the 10 games with Holliday behind him, and he hasn't hit a home run since he smashed two in the first game of the second half. That doesn't mean Mets manager Jerry Manuel will change his approach to the St. Louis lineup. "[Holliday is] a good player, an exciting player, one of the dominant right-handed hitters in this league for a couple years. But still, the guy you've got to be careful with is Albert Pujols," Manuel said. "If I have a chance to get Holliday or Pujols, I'm going after Holliday. But that does give them some protection. You might see him, once he gets hot again, take it to another level because of that protection." It might not matter what the Cardinals' offense does against Johan Santana if Joel Pineiro replicates his late-June performance at Citi Field. Pineiro shut out the Mets on two hits, inducing 22 ground-ball outs in the Cardinals' lone victory of the series. The Mets hope things will be a little different this time around. Pitching matchupNYM: LHP Johan Santana (12-8, 2.96 ERA)
Santana provided seven scoreless innings, allowing merely four hits and a walk in the Mets' victory against the Rockies on Thursday. Moreover, he struck out eight, three more than he had in any of his previous 10 starts. He has pitched seven scoreless innings in five games, four of which are among the Mets' first eight shutouts. Santana threw 104 pitches, 73 for strikes. A 70 percent strike ratio is uncommonly high. Now he faces the Cardinals at Citi Field where he has an 8-2 record and 1.69 ERA in 11 starts this season and 14-2 record and 1.58 ERA in his 20 starts. His most effective performance in June was against the Cardinals. He allowed two runs (one earned) in seven innings in a victory.
STL: RHP Joel Pineiro (9-9, 2.84 ERA)
Pineiro returns to Queens, the site of two of his finest performances. He pitched eight scoreless innings at Shea Stadium in his final start in 2007, undermining the Mets' postseason chances, and shut them out on two hits -- and 22 ground balls -- at Citi Field on June 23. He also beat New York in St. Louis in April, allowing two runs in eight innings. Pineiro has a 3-0 record and 2.91 ERA in five starts against the Mets since the beginning of the 2006 season. Overall, Pineiro has allowed one or zero runs in four straight starts, and he has surrendered three or fewer earned runs in 10 straight starts. The Cardinals have won his five most recent starts but only 11 of his 20. He has allowed merely three home runs in 136 1/3 innings, the lowest ratio in the big leagues. He allowed 22 -- one each by Delgado and Reyes -- in 148 2/3 last season. The players in the Mets' active roster have no home runs and a .208 average in 106 total at-bats.
Tidbits
Billy Wagner made his second appearance of his Minor League rehabilitation assignment with the Gulf Coast Mets against
the Gulf Coast Marlins in Jupiter, Fla., on Monday. He threw eight pitches, five for strikes in a 1-2-3 inning. ... With the Mets having returnned left-hander Pat Misch to Triple-A, Manuel said he would consider using Oliver Perez in relief between starts if the circumstances would allow. Perez would make brief appearances rather than be used in long relief. If he were to be used in long relief, the days he probably would be needed would be the days he started. ... Tim Redding matched his career-high with 3 1/3 innings of relief. ... Jeff Francoeur has 19 RBIs in his first 20 games with the Mets, and that, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, is the second most by a player in his first 20 Mets games. Bernard Gilkey had 21 RBIs in his first 20 games for the Mets in 1996.
This date in Mets history, Aug. 4: Doubleheaders were the bane of life for the early Mets teams. The 1962 Mets were swept 17 times in 30 double dips, and they swept only three, including one against the Reds at the Polo Grounds on this date. Their 9-1 and 3-2 victories -- the latter was decided in the 14th inning on a home run by Frank Thomas against Moe Drabowsky -- produced the third sweep. As poorly as they fared in doubleheaders, though, their winning percentage in twin bills (.267) was higher than their overall percentage (.250). And the Mets' percentage in games that were not a part of doubleheaders was .240. ... Always earnest Joe McEwing drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and a double in the first four innings as the Mets forced Randy Johnson from the game and beat the D-backs in Phoenix on this date in 2000. Rick Reed was the winning pitcher in the 6-1 victory. ... The Mets amassed 15 hits, including four by Ty Wigginton, and hit four home runs, one by Wigginton, but lost to the D-backs, 12-7, at Shea Stadium on this date in '02. The loss was the fourth of five straight that put the Mets' record at .500.
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• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español) Up next
• Wednesday: Mets (Jon Niese, 1-1, 4.50) vs. Cardinals (Kyle Lohse, 4-6, 4.14), 12:10 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Mets (Livan Hernandez, 7-5, 4.77) at Padres (Clayton Richard, 4-3, 4.47), 10:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Mets (Oliver Perez, 2-3, 7.03) at Padres (TBD), 10:05 p.m. ET
Tim Britton is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
