METS AT MARLINS
Zack Wheeler (4-1, 3.72) vs Nathan Eovaldi (2-1, 3.54)
Starting Lineup
- Eric Young Jr., lf
- Daniel Murphy, 2b
- David Wright, 3b
- Marlon Byrd, rf
- Ike Davis, 1b
- John Buck, c
- Juan Lagares, cf
- Omar Quintanilla, ss
- Zack Wheeler, rhp
Mets Notes
- RHP Jeremy Hefner struggled for the third straight start. Against the Marlins Monday, he allowed just four hits but five walks in 5 1/3 innings. He also gave up five runs, but two were unearned thanks to an error by his shortstop, Omar Quintanilla. Hefner’s pitch count was high—111—for the amount of innings he pitched, another sign of his struggles.
- The New York Mets will continue to accept inquiries about Marlon Byrd and Bobby Parnell in the next 24 hours or so, until the non-waiver trade deadline passes at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday. Still, a team insider reiterated Tuesday morning to ESPNNewYork.com, the deadline is expected to pass with the roster remaining intact. The Mets have not received inquiries on any players other than Byrd and Parnell, according to the source. And while a trade is not out of the question, both of those players are expected to remain unless the Mets are bowled over — or, as the source said: “Unless somebody comes out and really needs something, versus wanting something.”
- RHP Zack Wheeler will start Tuesday against the Marlins. Since his big-league debut on June 18, Wheeler has allowed batters to hit just .114 with runners in scoring position. That ranks third in the majors over that span. With runners on base, Wheeler is almost as tough—a .162 average allowed, third best in the majors among pitchers who have faced at least 68 batters. This will be the first time the Marlins see Wheeler, one of the best prospects in baseball before being called up last month.
- 2B Daniel Murphy entered Monday ranked ninth in the NL with 26 doubles. He didn’t add to that total, but he went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. He has hit safely in 18 of his past 20 games and is hitting .356 with 16 RBIs in that span.
- RHP David Aardsma pitched two-thirds of an inning Monday to get the win in relief over the Marlins. He is 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA this season. He has inherited nine runners this season, and none of them have scored.
- SS Omar Quintanilla picked a terrible time to boot a ground ball. With two outs and the bases loaded in Monday’s fourth inning, Quintanilla failed to handle a soft ground ball by Marlins RHP Jacob Turner, allowing two runs to score. It was only Quintanilla’s sixth error of the season—but it was a big one.
- Jon Niese, who’s been on the DL since June 21 with a partially torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, could rejoin the Mets’ rotation in mid-August. He’ll make two more rehab starts, and if he comes through both of those healthy, he could be back on a Major League mound around the week of Aug. 11. Niese said he pitched through pain in the first couple of months of the season and it never improved, especially after pitching in cold temperatures in Denver and Minneapolis.
Game Preview
The Mets and Marlins continue their series tonight as the Mets celebrate Zack Wheeler Day. Last night the Mets were able to squeak out a win against the Marlins and finally get back in the win column after a disappointing series in Washington. Tonight the Mets will face Nathan Eovaldi, a pitcher they seemed to face every 2-4 weeks last year.
Wheeler is 4-1 with a 3.72 ERA over 38.2 innings. His last two starts haven’t been the greatest as he’s allowed 6 runs, 5 earned in 10.2 innings of work. He has not faced the Marlins in his first 7 seven major league starts of his career, so tonight will be the first of many against the fish. As such, there are no official batting stats yet for Marlins bats vs Wheeler.
Eovaldi is making his 8th start of the season. So far he is 2-1 over 40.2 innings with a 3.54 ERA. Last year he faced the Mets 4 times, which is amazing because he wasn’t a Marlin the entire year. In those four games he pitched 21.2 innings with a 3.74 ERA and a 1-2 record. The Mets have the following numbers against Nathan:
Wright 3-11
Davis 3-8, 2B, 2 HR
Murphy 4-8, 2 2B
Young 0-3
Lets Go Mets!
