New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates
Carlos Torres (0-1, 0.51) vs A.J. Burnett (4-6, 3.05)
Starting Lineup
- Eric Young, Jr. – LF
- Daniel Murphy – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Marlon Byrd – RF
- Kirk Nieuwenhuis – CF
- John Buck – C
- Omar Quintanilla – SS
- Carlos Torres – RHP
Game Notes
Carlos Torres makes his first start as a member of the New York Mets and the seventh start of his major league career tonight. Torres, 30, joined the Mets bullpen after a dominating showing as a starter with Triple-A Las Vegas. He had exercised an out in his contract, forcing the Mets to either call him up or release him.
Jeremy Hefner was pulled for pinch hitter Jordany Valdespin with the score tied at 2 to lead off the top of the eighth, even though Hefner’s pitch count was only 78. After Alvarez’s first-inning homer, Hefner retired the next 14 batters. Hefner admitted being caught off guard by Terry Collins lifting him from the game, but added he was not in any position to question his manager’s decision.
Jonathon Niese has started the process of working back from a rotator cuff injury after getting cleared to begin tossing a baseball at the beginning of the week. Niese is currently long-tossing in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Terry Collins said. That builds up arm strength before stepping on a mound.
Terry Collins has announced that Jeremy Hefner will start the second-half opener next Friday at Citi Field against the Philadelphia Phillies. Zack Wheeler will get the Saturday game and Matt Harvey the Sunday game that series, according to the Post’s Kevin Kernan.
And this…
J.P. Ricciardi with Jim Duquette today projected Rafael Montero as a No. 4 starter in the big leagues — No. 3 as ceiling. #mets
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) July 13, 2013
Game Preview
The Mets and Bucs are back at it tonight for game two of the series. The Mets dropped the first game in extra innings last night after showing a lot of fight to tie the game and push it into extras. The Mets had some interesting bull pen decisions and ultimately left the game with a loss and a fully rested closer (I’m not doing so well at covering my feelings here). Anyway, Carlos Torres makes his debut as a starter today as the Mets skip Matt Harvey. Burnett starts for the Bucs.
Carlos Torres is 0-1 this season pitching in 10 games and finishing 2. During those 10 games he has pitched 17.2 innings, striking out 15 batters and posting a 0.51 ERA. Last year he pitched one inning against the Pirates allowing no hits and no runs, while walking one batter. The Pirates have the following numbers on Torres:
Inge 2-3, 2B, HR
Alvarez 0-1
McCutchen 0-1
The Mets draw Burnett who is 4-6 with a 3.05 ERA this year pitching 94.1 innings. His last start was his first in nearly a month and he allowed 2 runs, 1 earned over 5 innings of work while walking 2 and striking out 3. The last time he faced the Mets was in 2011 where he allowed 3 ER over 6.1 innings of work. The Mets have the following numbers against him:
Buck 6-22, 2B, 3 HR
Wright 3-18, 2B
Byrd 2-15
Murphy 1-7
Lets Go Mets!
