The Mets continue their final series of the season with the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Saturday at 7:10 PM. Jon Niese (8-11, 3.55 ERA) will start for the Mets and will oppose LHP Mike Minor (6-11, 4.74) for the Braves.
At 74-80, Mets need to go 7-1 the rest of the way to reach .500. Otherwise, they will produce their sixth straight losing season, which would match the Houston Astros for the longest active streak of losing seasons in the majors.
Juan Lagares is not making the trip to Atlanta and D.C. because of his right elbow sprain. There’s a chance he may still appear during the season’s final series against the Astros at Citi Field. But it’s likely he probably will not appear again this season.
Starting Lineup
- Eric Young, Jr. – LF
- Daniel Murphy – 3B
- Travis d’Arnaud – C
- Lucas Duda – 1B
- Wilmer Flores – SS
- Curtis Granderson – CF
- Eric Campbell – RF
- Dilson Herrera – 2B
- Jon Niese – LHP
The Mets can still keep the dream alive tonight of reaching .500 at the end of the season. Last night they won the series opener 5-0 and while they were still eliminated from the Wild Card chase, they now need to go 7-1 for the rest of the season to reach mediocrity. Last night also saw Duda hit his 28th homer of the season, giving him 8 more games to try and reach 30!
Jon Niese gets the start tonight, on the season he is 8-11 over 28 games, 175.0 innings with a 3.55 ERA. He only made one mistake in his last outing, a pitch that turned into a two run homer in the 7th inning, but that was enough for the Nationals who eventually won 3-0. Overall in his last two starts he has allowed 3 ER over 13.2 innings. He has allowed 4 ER over 13.0 innings against the Braves in 2014, but still has found himself at 0-2 against them. The Braves have the following numbers vs Jon:
- Freeman 1-=34, 2 2B, 2 HR
- Heyward 9-28, 2 2B, 2 HR
- J Upton 9-20, 2B
- C Johnson 6-18, 2 2B
- Simmons 5-15, 2B
- Laird 5-10, 2 2B
- BJ Upton 1-9, 5 K’s
The Mets bats will get yet another look at Mike Minor, who is 6-11 this season year 144.1 innings, 24 starts with a 4.74 ERA. He is coming off a rough start against Texas where he allowed 5 ER and 8 hits over 4.2 innings, which ended a streak of 6 good starts that saw him pitch 41.2 innings with a 2.59 ERA. He is 1-0 in three starts against the Mets this year posting a 3.44 ERA over 18.1 innings. The Mets have the following numbers against him:
- Tejada 8-24, 2 2B
- Duda 7-22, 2B, HR
- Murphy 3-21, 2 2B, HR
- Granderson 4-15, HR
- Lagares 4-14, 2B
- d’Arnaud 2-8, 2 2B
Lets Go Mets!
