Detroit Tigers at New York Mets
Citi Field • 7:10 PM
Doug Fister (10-6, 3.63) vs Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-0, 0.00)
Starting Lineup
- Eric Young, Jr. – LF
- Daniel Murphy – 2B
- Marlon Byrd – RF
- Ike Davis – 1B
- Wilmer Flores – 3B
- Juan Lagares – CF
- Travis d’Arnaud – C
- Omar Quintanilla – SS
- Daisuke Matsuzaka – RHP
Game Notes
- Greg Burke was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas so the Mets could clear a roster spot for RHP Daisuke Matsuzka, who is due to start Friday. Burke, 30, is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in 29 relief appearances for New York this year.
- Jeremy Hefner is seeking a second opinion, but said he’ll probably need season-ending Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow. Hefner, who has a partial tear of his MCL and bone spurs in his right elbow, will meet with Dr. James Andrews next Monday. “I think I wasn’t leading on as much as I was because I wanted to pitch, I wanted to play. I was doing well,” Hefner said. “Back when I was doing well, I was hurting then, too. When I started to struggle I was hurting the team so that was the decision to eventually say something.”
- Daisuke Matsuzaka was signed to a contract on Thursday. Matsuzaka was released by the Cleveland Indians earlier this week after going 5-8 with a 3.92 ERA. Reports indicated that he could start for the Mets as early as Friday, piggybacking with regularly-scheduled starter Carlos Torres.
- Carlos Torres will start the opener of a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night. He’s 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 1-1 in three starts with a 6.43 ERA. His last start was in a 14-1 loss against the Nationals on July 28. “Hopefully he gets back to where he was when he first got here with his delivery and command of his stuff down in the zone,” Collins said. “The last couple of games he’s been hurt by getting balls up.
- Josh Satin extended his streak of reaching base safely to 29 games with a first-inning single, tying a franchise record with Steve Henderson (1977), according to Elias Sports Bureau. It is the fourth-longest streak in the NL this season.
- Juan Lagares collected his 11th outfield assist of the season in the fourth inning. It is the most by a rookie center fielder since Rocco Baldelli had 15 for Tampa Bay in 2003. Lagares began the day one behind the major league lead for all outfielders and is the leader for center fielders.
- Jonathon Niese matched his season high by striking out nine for the second consecutive start. He also had nine strikeouts at San Diego on Aug. 16. Since returning from the 15-Day disabled list Aug. 11, Niese has struck out 23 and walked five in three starts and has a 2.70 ERA over the stretch.
- Frank Francisco started a new rehab assignment in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League on Wednesday, and he allowed a solo homer in his only inning. He struck out two. Francisco has been out all season due to a right elbow injury, and his rehab has hit several setbacks.
Game Preview
The Tigers come to town tonight and start a weekend series with the Mets. The Mets actually had a day off yesterday, crazy I know, after splitting a two game series with he Braves. The real story for the Mets tonight is their starting pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka. As I tweeted yesterday, half-a decade ago, I’d be very excited about this signing. I do like this signing for this point of the season if Daisuke can soak up some innings from our young guns. Recently he hasn’t been successful in the majors. Last year he was 1-7 over 11 games with a 8.28 ERA. The year before he was 3-3 with a 5.30 ERA over 7 games. He’s been alright in the Indians minor league system this year posting a 5-8 record and a 3.92 ERA over AAA. The Tigers have the following numbers against Matsuzaka:
Hunter 5-18, HR
Cabrera 4-9, HR
Martinez 1-6
Santiago 2-4, 2B
Jackson 1-4, 2B
Doug Fister gets the nod for the Tigers tonight. Fister is 10-6 with 3.63 ERA over 25 starts this season. He’s o-1 in his last three starts over 18.1 innings where he has posted a 4.42 ERA. He has never faced the Mets in his career but a few Mets have faced him on other teams:
Buck 1-2
Byrd 0-3
Omar 0-2
Lets Go Mets!
