Today at 2:15 ET, the Mets begin a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 
The Cardinals are currently 72-62, in second place in NL Central and currently leading the race for the second wild card spot by a half game over the Dodgers. The Cardinals have one of the most dangerous offenses in baseball. After losing Albert Pujols in free agency this winter, multiple players have stepped up in his absence, including Yadier Molina, who got a new contract extension last winter.
The St. Louis starting rotation has also improved over last year, despite Chris Carpenter‘s health problems. Kyle Lohse has stepped up and has become the ace of the staff. He is having a career year, with an ERA well under three and a record of 14-2.
This should be a very tough series for the Mets to win. They definitely won’t be able to out-hit them, because their offense is just too dangerous. Luckily, the pitching matchups favor the Mets a little bit in this series, so maybe they could get lucky and take two of three. A playoff spot seems like a dream at this point. The Mets need to win the vast majority of their September games, especially ones against playoff contenders like the Cardinals, in order to have any shot at the playoffs.
But let’s just win this series before we start going crazy about the playoffs…
Team Comparison
Pitching Matcups
Game 1- Today 1:15
Collin McHugh (1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, BB, 9 K)
vs.
Joe Kelly (81.2 IP, 108 ERA+, 2.00 K/BB)
Game 2- Tuesday 8:15
Matt Harvey (42.1 IP, 140 ERA+, 2.88 K/BB)
vs.
Jaime Garcia (85.2 IP, 86 ERA+, 2.96 K/BB)
Game 3- Wednesday 1:45
R.A. Dickey (191.1 IP, 145 ERA+, 4.32 K/BB)
vs.
Adam Wainwright (168.2 IP, 99 ERA+, 3.88 K/BB)
Offensive Threats
- Matt Holliday- .305/..397/.526, 25 HR, 10.1 BB%, 18.1 K%
- Allen Craig- .309/.365/.556, 20 HR, 8.4 BB%, 19.0 K%
- Yadier Molina- .322/.373/.506, 17 HR, 6.8 BB%, 9.8 K%
7 comments
srt
9/3/2012-5:38pm at 5:38 pm (UTC -4)
First game just ended.
If only Duda could play LF,
If only Parnell was a consistent BP arm,
If only that rookie ump actually knew what he was doing,
we actually might have won this game.
darknova306
9/3/2012-7:08pm at 7:08 pm (UTC -4)
Mets haven’t been good with RISP, so I’m not gonna worry about the call at 1st base. They really need to hit consistently and get some real defense out there.
I still haven’t heard anyone explain why Duda is supposed to get so much better by switching to LF from RF. They’re the same thing other than throws to 3rd base, and he just doesn’t hit nearly enough to justify being a severe defensive liability.
srt
9/3/2012-8:58pm at 8:58 pm (UTC -4)
Did you see the game or that play? It was beyond ridiculous.
Instead of a man on second with no outs, we’ve got no one on with 1 out. Mets have had a knack lately for scoring late so we very well might have at least tied the game there. Of course, if it wasn’t for Parnell, it would have already been tied.
Agree with you on Duda and his defense in LF. SSS but I’m not seeing any improvement with LF vs. RF. The only way you can live with that kind of defense out there is if his bat more than makes up for it. Which it has not this season.
darknova306
9/3/2012-10:39pm at 10:39 pm (UTC -4)
I saw the game and the play. The play was ridiculous, but no one was doing anything against Motte, so I doubt anything would have come from Torres being safe there.
gategem
9/4/2012-3:18am at 3:18 am (UTC -4)
Well a sacrifice bunt followed by a suicide squeeze and the Mets tie the game. Oh wait, these are the Mets we’re talking about and even though they bunt frequently they seldom are successful.
Hazmet
9/3/2012-9:12pm at 9:12 pm (UTC -4)
Parnell’s better starting innings with a clean slate imo. When they were bringing him in I said to myself, “alright, bring Parnell in so he can give up the deciding run if they come back and get tagged with the loss”.
I honestly expect the worse this series. The Met’s abused the Cards when they visited earlier in the year and I would think they’d have a little payback in mind.
kingman 26
9/4/2012-9:03pm at 9:03 pm (UTC -4)
“Surging Mets”???
Very cute and utterly adorable.