New York Mets vs Atlanta Braves
Turner Field, Atlanta • 7:10 PM
LHP Jon Niese (3-6, 4.15) vs LHP Mike Minor (8-2, 2.68)
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Starting Lineup
- Eric Young Jr. – LF
- Daniel Murphy – 2B
- David Wright – 3B
- Marlon Byrd – RF
- Lucas Duda – 1B
- John Buck – C
- Juan Lagares – CF
- Omar Quintanilla – SS
- Jon Niese – LHP
Game Notes
Marcum (0-9) became the first Mets pitcher to lose his first nine decisions in a season since Anthony Young started 0-13 in 1993. The only other pitcher in franchise history to lose as many as nine straight decisions to start a season was Bob Miller, who began 0-12 in 1962.
After allowing five runs over 4 2/3 innings Wednesday, Shaun Marcum‘s ERA rose to 7.94 over his last three starts with 14 strikeouts and seven walks. Meanwhile, Dillon Gee has posted a 1.64 ERA with 20 strikeouts and four walks, while Jeremy Hefner has produced a 1.50 ERA with 14 strikeouts and three free passes over their last three outings.
Making his Mets debut, Eric Young Jr., bated leadoff and played center field last night and opened the game with a leadoff single. He finished 1-for-4, including grounding into an eighth-inning double play.
Is 1-2 with a 1.93 ERA (seven earned runs/32.2 innings) with 23 strikeouts over his last five starts. Four of the five starts have been quality starts. Niese has thrown 6.0 or more innings in eight of his 13 starts this season.
Carlos Torres fired 2.1 scoreless and hitless innings last night with four strikeouts. Torres has allowed one hit over 4.1 innings with five strikeouts since he joined the Mets on June 15.
John Buck and Anthony Recker became the second pair of Mets catchers to hit home runs on the same day when they each went deep on Tuesday. Gary Carter and Ed Hearn did that in the same game on June 20, 1986 against the Cubs. Mets catchers have combined to hit 14 home runs this year, tied for the second-most in the majors, one behind Toronto.
Edgardo Alfonzo, who spent eight seasons playing in Queens, can’t wait for his former club to host the All-Star festivities. He’ll be on hand for FanFest, July 12-16 at the Javits Center, where he is eager to interact with fans — specifically the youngsters for whom he’ll be signing autographs.
Game Preview
The Braves and Mets finish off their five game series this afternoon against the Braves and, it’s a rubber game! The Mets dropped the first game of the series that started at 10:05 in Atlanta due to rain thanks to a two run homer in the ninth and very little run support throughout the game. The Mets then won two games on what may be the best day of the season as Harvey dominated followed by Wheeler dominating. Marcum had a rough start last night and the offense couldn’t smooth it over so it comes down to this. If this was the playoffs, this would be the crucial game 5. Alas, it’s not. Jon Niese gets the nod as he goes up against Mike Minor.
Jon Niese is 3-6 over 13 games and 73.2 innings while posting a 4.15 ERA. Niese has been solid in his last five starts totaling 32.2 innings with a 1.93 ERA. His one start against Atlanta this year was not so good as he allowed 7 ER over 4.0 innings of work. The Braves have the following numbers against Niese:
Uggla 9-30, 3 2B, 3B
Freeman 7-22, 2 2B, 2 HR
Heyward 8-20, 2 2B, 2 HR
R. Johnson 7-18
J Upton 6-13, 2B
McCann 1-12
Mike Minor is 8-2 over 14 games this year with a 2.68 ERA while pitching 90.2 innings. He’s coming off of a rough start allowing 5 runs, 4 earned over 6 innings. It was the second time in the last three games that Minor gave up 4 or more runs (not necessarily earned). In two starts against the Mets this year he allowed 3 ER over 14.1 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against Minor:
Wright 2-17, 2 2B
Buck 1-11, HR
Duda 5-14, 2B, HR
Byrd 4-13, 2B
Murphy 2-13, 2 2B
Lets Go Mets!
