The Mets (77-82) open their final series of the season on Friday night against the Houston Astros (69-90) at Citi Field. Jon Niese (9-11, 3.50) will get the start for the Mets and he’ll be opposed by Brad Peacock (4-9, 4.82) for the Astros in a 7:10 PM matchup.
Niese will make his 30th start tonight, tying his career-high. He also started 30 games in 2010 and 2012. Niese has gone 22 consecutive starts allowing three earned runs or less at home, tied with Johan Santana (April 29, 2008-May 27, 2009) for the longest such streak in team history.
Houston entered the National League in 1962 with the Mets as the Colt 45s before moving to the American League West in 2013. The Mets are 258-308 all-time vs. Houston. This is the first time the two clubs are meeting since the Astros moved to the AL.
Bobby Abreu is expected to formally announce his retirement tonight according to the Daily News. The Mets have had no discussion with him remaining with the organization in a coaching capacity.
Eric Young, Jr. swiped his 30th base in the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader and now ranks sixth in the National League in stolen bases. Young had 38 stolen bases with New York last year.
Curtis Granderson is 10-for-his-last-21 (.476) while hitting in six straight games. Granderson is hitting .329 (25-76) with 13 runs scored, seven doubles, one triple, three home runs and 16 RBI this month. His 16 RBI are tied for the second-most in the NL this month, he is also 12th with a .329 batting average, tied for third in doubles (7) and tied for second with 11 extra-base hits.
Wilmer Flores has scored 14 runs this month, collected five doubles, one triple, four home runs and driven in 13 runs in 20 games in September. Flores is tied for seventh in the NL with his four home runs this month, tied for 11th in RBI and runs scored and tied for ninth with 10 extra-base hits in September.
Starting Lineup
- Eric Young Jr. – LF
- Wilmer Flores – 2B
- Daniel Murphy – 3B
- Lucas Duda – 1B
- Curtis Granderson – RF
- Matt den Dekker – CF
- Anthony Recker – C
- Ruben Tejada – SS
- Jon Niese – LHP
The Mets split the double header last night which locked in another losing season for the Amazins, but they still have a chance to finish with 80 wins on the season if they sweep the last series at home against the Houston Astros. Tonight Jon Niese will be on the hill as he takes on Brad Peacock as both teams try to finish their 2014 campaigns with dignity heading into the off-season.
Jon Niese is 9-11 over 29 starts and 182.1 innings with a 3.50 ERA heading into his final start of the season. In his last three starts he is 1-1 over 21.0 innings with a 2.14 ERA while striking out 19 batters. In his career he has made five starts against the Astros with a 1-3 record and a 3.60 ERA. The Astros have the following numbers against Niese:
- Guzman 2-9
- Fowler 1-9
- Altuve 1-5
- Gonzalez 0-4
- Castro 0-3
The Mets bats will get a look at Brad Peacock tonight who is 4-9 this season over 27 games, 23 starts and 127.0 innings of work while posting a 4.82 ERA. He is coming off of a statistically interesting start where he pitched 3.1 innings allowed 6 hits and 2 earned runs and thanks to the defense, 7 total runs. He is also 1-0 in one career start against the Amazin’s where he allowed no runs and two hits over 5.0 innings. The Mets have the following limited numbers against him:
- Tejada 1-3
- Duda 0-1
- Satin 0-2
Lets Go Mets!
