Jeremy Hefner pitches this evening, as Mike Baxter sports the best numbers against Edinson Volquez
The Mets look to bounce back against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in southern California this evening after falling to the Fathers last night by the score of 3-1 as starter RA Dickey lost only his second game of the season.
Today the Mets send Jeremy Hefner back to the mound for what could be his last start in a while as Johan Santana is expected to return next week. The Padres will counter with offseason acquisition Edinson Volquez.
Mets Lineup
Mike Baxter has had he most success against Volquez going 2-for-6 with a double and a home run. Justin Turner is also 2-for-6 while a handful of Mets have 0-fors against Volquez including Jason Bay, Ronny Cedeno, Ike Davis, Scott Hairston and Andres Torres.
Padres Lineup
Despite a short Major League career several players have had some success against the Mets’ right-hander, both Everth Cabrera and Jesus Guzman are 2-for-2 against Hefner, while Will Venable is 2-for-3 in limited head-to-head action.
Pitching Matchup
Jeremy Hefner (1-4; 5.52 ERA) Hefner has struggled in his two starts since being reinserted into the starting rotation. His last time out against the Giants he earned a no decision after Hairston’s late-inning heroics. Hefner may still be able to salvage a spot on the roster as the long-man when Santana comes back if the Mets prefer to send Elvin Ramirez back to Buffalo.
Edinson Volquez (7-7; 3.51 ERA) Volquez is coming off of a five-inning outing as he returned home to the Queen City in Ohio but did earn the victory despite allowing five earned runs. Prior to that he had a seven-inning no decision against San Francisco. One start earlier he had a complete-game one-hitter against the lowly Houston Astros.
August 4 in Mets History
The Mets are 0-5 in their last five games on August 4, with their last win coming back in 2004.
2001: The Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix by the score of 4-2, there was no real significance to this game but the losing pitcher for the D’Backs was Miguel Batista. I figure I would take another parting shot.
2000: A year earlier the Mets defeated future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in then-known as Bank One Ballpark by the score of 6-1. Johnson’s bugaboo was always Joe McEwing who went 2-for-3 with two RBI against Arizona’s left-hander.
Happy 70th Birthday to former Mets outfielder Cleon Jones.
