NewsMets dig in against home run threat
New York (58-72) at Chicago (65-62), 4:10 p.m. ET
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
08/29/09 10:16 PM ET
CHICAGO -- The home run has been the Mets' undoing for two days now. Alfonso Soriano beat them Friday with a three-run homer in the eighth inning, and rookie Jake Fox buried them with a grand slam in the fifth Saturday. And now what? These Mets can't be blamed if they flinch when any Cubs player swings Sunday. Even when the Cubs' starting pitcher bats that afternoon, the Mets might take a step toward Wrigley's vines. They face Carlos Zambrano in the third game of this series. And what pitcher is as much of a challenge as Zambrano -- as a hitter? He is batting .245 with 13 hits and eight RBIs in 53 at-bats. And four of the hits have left the park. Indeed, his four home runs exceed the season totals of all but six players on the Mets' current roster. Gary Sheffield (10), Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy (seven each), Omir Santos and Angel Pagan (six each) have hit more than Zambrano. And Jeff Francoeur has hit 11, six with the Mets. Zambrano has hit 20 home runs in his career, the most of any active pitcher. One has come against the Mets. He hit one off Tom Glavine at Shea Stadium on July 25, 2006. And 11 of the 20 have come at Wrigley. Zambrano never has faced Mets starter Nelson Figueroa, who has allowed six home runs in 49 1/3 innings this season. Pitching matchupNYM: RHP Nelson Figueroa (1-3, 5.40 ERA)
Based more on the lack of available options than his five-inning performance Tuesday in Miami, Figueroa starts again for the Mets. He allowed two runs, one earned, in his most recent outing and afterward cited the Marlins' unfamiliarity with his five-pitch array as a primary reason for his effectiveness. If that was the reason, then Figueroa may face trouble at Wrigley Field. Only four big league teams have faced him more often than the Cubs in his up-and-down career. They have tagged him for a 4.40 ERA and hit him at a .266 clip. Lifetime, Figueroa's record against the Cubs is 0-4. Aramis Ramirez has a double and a home run among his four hits in nine at-bats against Figueroa. Derrek Lee is 1-for-12 against the Mets pitcher. CHC: RHP Carlos Zambrano (7-5, 3.80 ERA)
Zambrano allowed a season-high eight runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the Nationals on Tuesday in his first big league start since Aug. 1. His back, the cause of his assignment to the disabled list, held up in his 95-pitch performance. But he regularly fell behind in the count and wasn't sharp. Zambrano has a losing record, 2-3, and a 4.45 ERA in 10 starts at Wrigley Field and a 3-2 record and 4.40 ERA in nine afternoon starts. Eight of the nine home runs he has allowed have been hit by right-handed hitters. Jeff Francoeur has two home runs and a .235 average in 17 career at-bats against Zambrano. Tidbits
Two-run doubles by Francoeur and Brian Schneider accounted for the Mets' runs Saturday. Francoeur has 28 RBIs in 172 at-bats with the Mets. He drove in 29 in 304 at-bats with the Braves. ... Schneider had two hits, the first time he has had a multi-hit game since June 16. The multiple RBIs were a first since June 29. he's batting .188. This date in Mets history -- Aug. 30: The Mets faced Sandy Koufax for the 20th and final time on this date in 1966 at Shea Stadium. And they beat him for the second time. Yes, it was an unusual day. Bob Friend, a longtime starter, pitching 7 2/3 innings in relief of starter Tug McGraw, was the winning pitcher in the 10-4 victory that delighted -- and stunned -- 50,840 Shea patrons. The Mets scored six times in two-plus innings against Koufax, who had beaten them 17 times. ... Donn Clendenon hit 12 home runs in 202 at-bats with the Mets after being traded by the Expos on June 15, 1969. The one he hit off Gaylord Perry in the 10th inning on this date produced a 3-2 victory at Candlestick Park that kept the Mets four games behind the first-place Cubs. Only Art Shamsky (14 in 303 at-bats) and Tommie Agee (26 in 565) hit more home runs than Clendenon did for that Mets team. Ron Darling pitched a five-hitter in the 2-1 victory at The Stick that put the second-place Mets within two games of the first-place Cardinals on this date in 1985. Howard Johnson's double in the ninth inning against Mets nemesis Mike Krukow -- he had a 22-7 career record against them -- produced the decisive run. ... The Mets had four 1-0 wins among their 100 victories in 1988. Bobby Ojeda was the winning pitcher in three of them, including one against the Padres at Shea on this date. All three were complete games. ... Edgardo Alfonzo had six hits and 16 total bases and scored six runs -- all club records -- with five RBIs in the Mets' 17-1 thrashing of the Astros at the Dome on this date in 1999. He equaled the club record for home runs with three. Tickets
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• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 9-9, 4.80) at Rockies (TBD), 8:40 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Mets (Tim Redding, 2-4, 5.94) at Rockies (Josh Fogg, 0-2, 3.35), 8:40 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.
