It's been a crazy year for the New York Mets. They will enter the month of June either 27-25 or 26-26, neither bad considering what their expectations were in spring training.
It will only get tougher for them and even strange as they play June baseball. Starting with Monday night's game in San Diego, the Mets will play 27 games through June 30, all of which are fun, intriguing, and exciting in some way.
Games will include match-ups with a bunch of first place teams in both the NL and AL. From June 11-20, the Mets will play nine straight games in American League ballparks. Who will be the DH for those games? Chris Carter? Daniel Murphy? It may be Murphy's only opportunity to play some games for the Mets without having to play a position and hurt the team defensively. At the same time, the Mets would love for him to get playing time to showcase his talents.
Their June schedule even takes them to Puerto Rico! It will be a crazy ride, and below is a breakdown of exactly what to look forward to in each June series for the Mets.
May 31-June 2 @ San Diego Padres
What's the intrigue?
The San Diego Padres are shockingly in first place in the NL West with a record of 29-20 on Memorial Day.
What to watch for
The Mets haven't been a good road team, we know that. But, going to Petco Park, the Mets will be playing in a stadium that's similar to theirs, Citi Field. The Padres have some great pitching, but the Mets will be sending out their top three starters so far this season, Mike Pelfrey, Johan Santana, and Hisanori Takahashi. It would be impressive for them to win this series on the road against on of the NL's best teams.
June 4-6 vs. Florida Marlins
What's the intrigue?
The Florida Marlins are always a pest for the Mets and they proved that by sweeping them four games in Miami during their last meeting.
What to watch for
This series will mark the Mets return to Citi Field, where they have been dominant at 19-9. The Mets will be looking for revenge against the Marlins, who swept them in a four-game series at Sun Life Stadium. Plus, the NL East is so bunched up that these games will matter.
June 8-10 vs. San Diego Padres
What's the intrigue?
It will be interesting to see how the Mets will do against the Padres at Citi Field a week after facing them in San Diego.
What to watch for
As it gets hotter and the season gets deeper, these are the kinds of games the Mets will have to win if they want to make a run at an NL playoff spot. The Padres are a pretty good team, and the Mets can earn a lot of respect by winning a series against a top NL club.
June 11-13 @ Baltimore Orioles
What's the intrigue?
The Orioles have the worst record among all 30 Major League teams, but whenever inter-league kicks off, it's still a sight to see. Plus, this will be the start of nine straight games for the Mets in AL parks.
What to watch for
There will be absolutely no excuse for the Mets to lose really any of the three games against the Orioles, no matter how bad they are on the road. The Orioles are 15-36, and besides Ty Wigginton, and some younger pitchers and position players, they're hopeless. Look for some nice hitting from the Mets at the bandbox that is Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
June 15-17 @ Cleveland Indians
What's the intrigue?
Just like the Orioles, the Indians are a pretty bad AL team. In fact, they have the second-worst records to the Baltimore Orioles. The Mets though haven't been to Cleveland since 2002.
What to watch for
Although the Indians came back to beat the Yankees 13-11 on Saturday, they are also a hopeless team just like the Orioles. If the Mets can win at least four, or maybe even five games against the Orioles and Indians, it'll help their road record out a bit, and propel them into the Bronx edition of the Subway Series.
June 18-20 @ New York Yankees
What's the intrigue?
What's the intrigue? Well, it's Mets-Yankees again. After the Mets took the Flushing edition of the Subway Series, they'll be looking to win four out of six and make a huge statement.
What to watch for
The Mets won two games from the Yankees at Citi Field, but this series will be at the New Yankee Stadium, where last season it kicked off with a game-ending Luis Castillo dropped pop-up. The Yankees are so dominant at home, so it'll be interesting to see how the Mets will do and hit at yet another AL bandbox stadium.
June 22-24 vs. Detroit Tigers
What's the intrigue?
This series will be the beginning of a tough week at Citi Field against the top two teams in the AL Central. The Tigers are in second with a record similar to the Mets at 26-23. They own one of baseball's best bullpens.
What to watch for
At this point of the month and season, where will the Mets be? This will be a tough test for the Mets, and also a point where they will be figuring whether they will be buyers or sellers a month later. The Mets struggled the last time they faced the Tigers in 2007.
June 25-27 vs. Minnesota Twins
What's the intrigue?
With a 29-20 record and first place in the AL Central, the Twins will enter with the M&M boys (Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau). The Twins always have trouble beating the other New York team, how will they fare in this series?
What to watch for
This will be a make-or-break home stand for the Mets. They will either go for a split or victory for the home stand, depending on what they do against the Tigers in the previous series. This will also be the Mets final games in the US for three days.
June 28-30 @ Florida Marlins (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
What's the intrigue?
This will be the Mets first regular season series outside the US since 2004, when they went to the same stadium (Hiram Bithorn in San Juan, PR) to face the Montreal Expos in their final season of existence.
What to watch for
The Mets will close out the month of June against the Florida Marlins, trying to fare better than the last time they visited them, albeit a different stadium and city. It was last season that the Mets started to fade into oblivion in the month of June, but without as many injuries, they will try and stay in the race for a long while, even through a trip to another country.
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