Mets(courtesy of mlb.com)
Despite their recent offensive woes — the seven runs were their most in 11 games — the Marlins have a couple of go-to RBI guys in Hanley Ramirez (29) and Uggla (23).
No one has more than 22 on the Mets, whose attack has been remarkably balanced — seven players are in double figures in RBIs — but the club is still searching for someone to pick up for injured Carlos Beltran and inconsistent David Wright.
Mets manager Jerry Manuel could shake up his lineup for Saturday’s game rather than keep waiting for the familiar combination to click.
“Managers like to play with the lineup,” he said. “I’m no different. I really like messing with the lineup.”(cough, cough bulls**t…(added by dirtysanchez))
Just as the Mets had made a dramatic U-turn three weeks ago to go on an eight-game winning streak, they’ve since gone as strikingly in the other direction.
John Maine will be asked to help stop a skid of nine losses in 13 games, which have lowered the Mets back to the .500 and into the flat-footed third-place tie with Florida.
The Marlins will be looking to climb over .500 for the first time since opening May with two straight wins over the Nationals. If they make it, it will be on the strength of winning three in a row for the first time this season.
The four runs in the second inning Friday matched the most the Marlins had scored in any of their previous nine games.
That kind of meager offensive support has been enough for a pitching staff which has allowed more than three runs in only one of 13 games during the month of May.
Even though Jose Reyes remains in the three-hole in the Mets’ lineup, leadoff duties keep finding him. He was hitless twice in leading off innings, and is batting .195 (8-for-41) in those situations. … The Mets’ four road wins, in 14 games, are the fewest in the Majors. … But they have been playing ‘em tight everywhere: Until Friday, the Mets had played 10 straight games decided by two runs or fewer.
Marlins(courtesy of mlb.com)
The Mets and the Marlins expect to be fighting each other for National League East supremacy before the season is done.
But third-place things first. The Marlins’ victory Friday drew them even with the Mets for middle ground in the NL East standings, and they’ll undo that knot in Saturday night’s third game of the series.
As Florida’s offense finally caught up with its starting pitching that has been consistently solid, the club proved to have something the Mets currently lack: A big run producer in the middle of the lineup.
Dan Uggla crushed two homers Friday night and drove in four of the Marlins’ runs in their 7-2 victory.
The batting breakout Friday included the team’s first homer of the season from a left-handed batter. Chris Coghlan took out Oliver Perez, a left-hander, in the fourth. Florida was the Majors’ last remaining club without a long ball from the left side.
3 comments
trs86
5/15/2010-7:07pm at 7:07 pm (UTC -4)
This is not baiting but damn does this quote piss me off: “It feels like I’m going home to see my family.â€
Well hell could you not have driven some of your “family members” home batting 3rd? I know, what was he supposed to say but it sure sounds like either he was pouting OR he is using batting 3rd as an excuse. A good hitter should be able to hit anywhere in the lineup. God forbid crazy Jerry try and give you more responsibility when we needed it.
metsfan4decades
5/15/2010-7:15pm at 7:15 pm (UTC -4)
Hard to argue that if you can hit you should be able to hit in any spot but….I really do believe we saw enough of Jose in the 3rd spot to know it just wasn’t happening for him. It might have, if he hadn’t lost most of last year. But coming back after 11 months and hitting in the 3rd spot for the first time obviously wasn’t working.
Now…if he still doesn’t start hitting as leadoff, well then – Houston, we have a problem……
metsfan4decades
5/15/2010-7:38pm at 7:38 pm (UTC -4)
Well, that first inning was just painful.