The Mets come home to CitiField for a 7-game home stretch that SHOULD by all means be a 7-0 rout for our boys in orange and blue. That being said, they haven’t exactly been able to BEAT said teams that they should be beating. This homestand sees the hapless Rockies and league-leading-worst-record Astros coming in. No problem right? *cough cough*
The Colorado Rockies come to town first, where they open up a 4-game series with the Mets at CitiField. First pitch is scheduled for tonight at 7:10 pm EST, and the game can be seen on SNY, heard on WFAN660AM and followed on Twitter @MetsWFAN. @dailystache and @Meriwyn.
The real story here continues to be R.A. Dickey, who is trying for his first 20-win season of his career. The problem seems to be that the rest of his team isn’t cooperating. As the Mets move to a 6-man rotation around Dickey (who will still pitch every 5th day), he needs only 5 more wins to hit the magic number. Seems simple enough, right? Yeah, I’m thinking the same things you all are…
Both the Mets and the Yankees will be taking part this week in something unprecedented in the history of the MLB. Both stadiums will be guinea pigs for testing the new…wait for it…INSTANT REPLAY TECHNOLOGY! Yes folks, the MLB finally caved and has decided to use CitiField and Yankee Stadium as testing grounds for instant replay usage on fair/foul ball calls in addition to the already-implemented home run review. So everyone say it with me…HALLELUJAH! It may not be total implementation, but it’s a start!
I also think I’ve figured out the Mets main problem. They actually do know how to play…they can pitch well, hit well, field well, etc. The problem is they CAN’T DO IT ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Winning a close game? No problem, the bullpen can lose that for ya right quick. Losing terribly? The same said bullpen can come in and pitch shut out innings. Need to win a big series? Sorry, the bats don’t want to come out and play. Need to salvage your dignity and win 1 game per series? 16-1 Mets over Cubs! See what I mean?
Anyhow, here are your lineups for tonight…
Mets Lineup
1. Ruben Tejada, SS
2. Mike Baxter, RF
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Ike Davis, 1B
5. Daniel Murphy, 2B
6. Scott Hairston, LF
7. Andres Torres, CF
8. Josh Thole, C
9. R.A. Dickey, SP
Rockies Lineup
1. Charlie Blackmon, RF
2. Jordan Pacheco, 3B
3. Dexter Fowler, CF
4. Andrew Brown, LF
5. Wilin Rosario, C
6. Tyler Colvin, 1B
7. D.J. LeMahieu, 2B
8. Jonathan Herrera, SS
9. Alex White, SP
Pitching Matchup
NYM: R.A. Dickey (15-4, 2.89 ERA). DIckey’s last outing against the Reds saw him give up a season-high 3 home runs. The Mets have moved to a six-man rotation, but R.A. will continue to start every 5th game as the others slot around him, so that he can keep up his routine, according to Dickey himself.
COL: Alex White (2-6, 5.74 ERA). Lack of command and confidence chased the rookie out of the game early in his last outing against the Marlins. He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and walked 3.
Stache Keys to the Game(s)
- Get Dickey his 16th win so he can stay in Cy Young contention.
- BEAT THE TEAMS YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BEAT.
- Get to the Rockies’ crappy pitching early and often.
August 20th in Mets History
Happy Birthday Cliff Cook (1936), Cory Sullivan (1979) and Lance Broadway (1983)!
LET’S GO METS!!
