How unpredictable is the NL East right now? So much that every team has a winning record. The Mets, along with the Marlins and Nationals, are 24-23, good for a three-way tie for third place in the division.
The Braves are sandwiched in between those three teams and the first-place Phillies, whom the Mets will try and sweep tonight.
The Mets have been as shocking as it gets all season long. What they have done in the first two games of this series with the Phillies is bordering on impossible.
The Mets shut out the Phillies in both of their wins so far. These are the same Phillies who made it to the World Series the last two seasons, winning one, with a stacked lineup. Although Jimmy Rollins isn't in that lineup, guys who are include Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth. It's really hard to envision how this has happened.
To add the cherry on top, the Mets have done it with a career minor leaguer (R.A. Dickey) and a 35-year-old Japanese league veteran (Hisanori Takahashi). Believe it or not, the Mets couldn't have done any better with Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey—who starts tonight—unless there were a such thing as negative runs scored.
Right now for Mets fans, it's just a ride that you'd have to enjoy. Nobody knows where this will end up, but the Mets are playing to a .667 home winning percentage at 18-9.
So, can the Mets improve to 10 games above .500 at home, sweep the Phillies, and cut to within two games of first place? Now come on, how can that happen? Well Mets fans, it could.
On the mound tonight will be Mike Pelfrey. That's the 6-1 Mike Pelfrey, who boasts a nice, tidy ERA of 2.86. You've got to believe that if the Mets could shut out the Phillies with Dickey and Takahashi, they can do it with Mike Pelfrey.
Pelfrey has come through the last two times out to win huge games for the Mets. On May 17, the Monday that the entire Mets front office flew down to Atlanta to check out a reeling Mets team that had gotten swept four games in Florida, Pelfrey delivered with 7 2/3 brilliant innings to beat the Braves and stop a five-game losing streak.
On Saturday night, with the Mets needing a win against the Yankees, Pelfrey pitched six decent innings, starting a current Mets four-game winning streak.
So lately, Pelfrey has stopped a losing streak and started a winning streak. That's the definition of a big-game pitcher.
It won't be easy though for a Mets offense that has suddenly come alive. They'll go up against Cole Hamels, who after a sub-par start to his season, has really kicked it into gear.
In his last start against the Red Sox on Friday, he went seven innings, allowing only one run on three hits, striking out eight.
The Mets, though, may not care about who's on the mound. Why? Well, their igniter Jose Reyes has also kicked it into gear. Reyes is nine for his last 14 and last night hit his first home run in over a year.
The Mets are getting the clutch hits and even sacrifices to score runs and are starting to get production from the entire lineup.
It'll be a battle between two young pitchers, one trying to continue a hot run in the hot weather, and one trying to stop the bleeding for a team only used to winning.
In fact, the Phillies are so used to winning that after last night's loss, manager Charlie Manuel held a closed-door meeting with his team to try and get them going again.
So things are starting to feel a little better in Mets land, and the Phillies are starting to feel the heat, both figuratively and literally.
The Mets have already clinched a winning home stand and would love to fly to Milwaukee on a five-game winning streak.
Mike Pelfrey vs. Philadelphia (May 1)
Loss, 4 IP, 6 ER, 8 hits, 1 BB, 2 SO
Cole Hamels vs. New York (career)
2-4, 4.12 ERA, 54.2 IP, 70 hits, 16 BB, 49 SO
2010 season series (New York vs. Philadelphia)
April 30: New York 9, Philadelphia 1
May 1: Philadelphia 10, New York 0
May 2: Philadelphia 11, New York 5
May 25: New York 8, Philadelphia 0
May 26: New York 5, Philadelphia 0
Mets lead series 3-2
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