The Mets look to end the Phillies 9 game winning streak in the middle game of this battle of I-95, otherwise known as the Turnpike Series. The Phillies will bring Cory Lidle (3-3, 4.17 ERA) to the mound, who started his major league career in 1997 with New York (21-11). The Mets counter with Tom Glavine, who has been the co-ace of the Mets staff, as good a number one starter as Pedro in this young season. Against the Mets, Lidle is 4-1 with a 2.15 ERA in five outings, striking out 26 and walking just five.

Glavine is 4-2, with a 1.94 ERA this year. Tonight he looks for his
280th career win. He has not beaten the Phillies in the last 10 times he has faced them, Sept.
19, 2002 is the last time he has a victory against them. Since then, Glavine is 0-7 with a 5.82 ERA and they have hit .298
against him. He has lost his last five starts versus them, allowing
24 runs and 35 hits in 29 innings. Overall, he is 24-16 with a 3.77 ERA in his career against Philadelphia. In Glavine's last two starts against Atlanta and Pittsburg, Glavine has allowed just seven hits with 11 strikeouts and just three walks in 14 innings.

Floyd is 8 for 19 against Lidle, with a homer. Reyes is 4 for 13 against him with a homer. Rollins is 17 for 46 against Glavine with 2 homers. Burrell is 13 for 46 with 2 homers against him.

Billy Wagner converted 59 saves in 66 opportunities in his two seasons for the Phillies, but Wagner will perhaps be the only man who will hear louder boos than Barry Bonds this year at the Vet. The Phillies offered 3 years for $30 million while the Mets won Wagner over with a four-year, $43 million contract contained a no-trade clause throughout the life of the deal. Wagner seemed to have few friends in his clubhouse near the end of his tenure,

Wagner is 7 for 10 in save opportunities this year, and hopes to close one out for Pedro who is is 7-4 with a 2.85 ERA lifetime against the Phillies, but had never pitched at the Vet. Wagner blew a save opportunity and a chance for Pedro to get his 6th win when Wagner gave up 2 ninth innings runs against Pittsburg. The Mets eventually came back to win in 14 innings. Martinez gave up just one run in six innings in the no decision.

The bullpen was used in 19 2-3 innings in the Atlanta series so they are hoping Pedro can put in a crisp performance. The Phillies have won eight of their last 10 at home, and are just 4 games behind the Mets as Atlanta has faded back to third place. Brett Myers takes the mound for the Phils and have not allowed more than 3 runs in a start this season. The Phils have allowed just 3.38 runs per game in their 8 game stretch. Chase Utley won Player Of The Week honors in the NL last week.

Myers (2-1,
3.11 ERA) has yet to
allow more than three runs in any start this season. He is 6-5 with a 5.57 ERA against the Mets.

Five Mets starters with at least 14 at-bats have averages of .318 or
higher against Myers: Carlos Beltran (.389), Kaz Matsui (.357), Paul Lo
Duca (.348), Cliff Floyd (.333) and Jose Reyes (.318). Third baseman
David Wright is 8-for-17 in his last four games but is a career .235
hitter against the Phillies. Beltran has four HR and nine walks in his last 36 plate appearances. He has a home run in each of his last three games. Jose Reyes has four runs scored, two doubles, a triple, an RBI and two walks in his last three games

Met Killer Pat Burrell has 31 homers and 82 RBIs in 365 lifetime at-bats against New York. However, Burrell is hitless in 13 at-bats against Martinez…

The Mets were 5-3 at Philadelphia last season and 11-7 overall against the Phillies.

Lineups will be posted when they are announced.

The Mets will have their regular starters ready to rock after a soggy extra inning affair last night where Willie gave Xavier Nady and Paul Lo Duca a rest. Tom Glavine takes the mound for the Amazin's, he is 20-12 with a 3.12 ERA against Pittsburgh and has 278 career
victories. He pitched 7 innings without allowing a run in his last start against his former team.

Paul Maholm squares off against the Mets, MetsGeek has a nice analysis of this pitcher. Heres a highlight…

Endy Chavez is hitting a ridiculous .538 in his last 13 at bats for the Mets, with a home run.

Paul Lo Duca remains hot hitting .412 in his last 17 at bats, with 2 home runs.

Lineups will be posted when they become available.

The Mets return home tonight after finishing the month of April with a franchise tying 16 wins, and bring the much maligned Victor Zambrano to the mound. Zambrano has his only win of the season against the Nats, his ERA a putrid 9.64. He allowed three runs and six hits in five innings in the 13-4 win.

The Mets will be facing Ramon Ortiz, who the Mets beat twice in April. Ortiz gave up 10 runs and 18 hits in 11 innings in those two defeats,
and opponents are hitting .344 against him through his first four
starts of 2006. He has a 1-3 record with a 4.68 ERA lifetime against the Mets.

Alfonso Soriano has a .412 batting average and 2 home runs in 34 at bats against Zambrano.

Carlos Delgado has a .394 average with 5 homers in 33 at bats against Ortiz.

Paul Lo Duca has hit well in the past week, 6-16 with a homer. Endy Chavez has been able to get his bat going finally this past week, going 6-18 with a homer. Kaz Matsui has also hit well, 8-24.

The Mets look to go 10 games over .500,  extend their lead to
eight games over the Braves, and sweep them in Atlanta. Did I actually
just type that or am I in some strange bizarro world where I just
finished getting a morning hummer from Jessica Alba?

Anyhoo, Steve Trachsel takes the hill today, yadda yadda yadda, holy shit Darryl this is really happening.

Lets go Mets!!!

To chat during the game, go to the HotFootBlog / MetsBlog’s Bleachers … or, to access the chat room through IRC, go to server name irc.echo34.com and channel #metsblog

The Mets look to end a 2 game skid on their west coast misadventure tonight with Steve Trachsel who is 9-4 with a 2.57 ERA lifetime against the Giants. The Giants throw Jamey Wright (2-0, 2.91) at the Mets who has been surprisingly effective. After leaving the thin air of Colorado, Wright has been able to keep his opponents off balance to the tune of a .192 clip.

It will be interesting to see how the Mets approach Barry Bonds this evening, after being burned twice last night. The Mets intentionally walked Bonds only to have Moises Alou cash in on their poor judgement both times. Bonds is batting .222 with just 1 homer in 16 games. Alou, meanwhile, is hitting .327 with five homers and 17 RBIs, with teams foolishly pitching around a struggling Bonds, afraid to wake a sleeping Giant. Bonds has hit .293 (12-for-41) with two homers and 13 walks against Steve Trachsel.

The Mets have been struggling, losing five of seven games since a 10-2 start.

Jamey Wright is 1-2 with a 5.81 ERA in eight lifetime starts against the Mets, but has only faced them once since 2002. The Giants are 14-4 at home against the Mets this decade. Kaz Matsui has been the Mets most effective hitter as of late, which speaks to how poorly the Mets have struggled for offense over the past few games. Matsui is 5-17 with a homer, batting .294

Heres the starting lineup….

1. Reyes
2. Lo Duca
3. Delgado
4. Wright
5. Floyd
6. Nady
7. Matsui
8. Chavez
9. Trachsel

Brian Bannister lamented in his last start that the weather played a factor in his effective wildness, seemingly walking a tightrope. The cold weather didn't allow him to sweat enough. He uses the moisture to improve his grip on the ball and pick his spots more accurately. Bannister will get a chance to test his theory in warmer climates tonight in Game 2 of the Mets set with the Pods.

Bannister (2-0, 2.50 ERA) has allowed just five
runs and 11 hits in his first 18 major league innings. He has
won his last two starts, holding Washington to a run and three
hits on April 11 and outmatching Brewers ace Ben Sheets with
five very effective innings in a 9-3 win on Sunday.

The Mets take on Woody Williams (1-0, 4.50), who just notched his win of the season, allowing three runs and
six hits in six innings of a 4-3 win at Atlanta on Sunday,
striking out nine. Woody has won five of his seven decisions against New York over his career, despite posting a 5.02 ERA in 11
starts.

Three Mets have been fairly successful hitting Williams over their career. Lo Duca has 6 hits, one of them a home run against Woody lifetime, batting .462. Floyd has 9 hits in 21 at bats against Woody, two of them home runs, batting .429. Reyes has a shorter resume but a good one against Williams, 3 for 7, batting .429. Over the past week, Xavier Nady is 9 for 24, batting .375 with 3 homers and 6 RBIs. Lo Duca has been hot as well, 7 for 20, batting .350. Delgado has 3 homers and 9 RBIs this past week.

The Mets kick off their west coast trip tonight in San Diego, and visit their old face of the organization, Mike Piazza. Uncle Mike has struggled since opening the season with a home run. Mike has been homerless since and is batting .231

Tom Glavine and David Wright commented on visiting their old teammate in the New York Post…

Mike Cameron has a minor league assignement tonight and could face the Mets on Saturday.

The Mets were a bit let down, losing 2 games after hitting a tremendous high, winning 10 of their last 12, culminating with an emotional win in the first game of the Atlanta series with Pedro on the mound winning his 200th game. The Mets look to get back to their winning ways with Steve Trachsel on the mound tonight on regular rest. The Mets are averaging 6.5 runs in their 10 wins this season, but just 2.3 in their four losses.

David Wright looks to get back on track. Wright entered the three-game set against Atlanta batting .429
(18-for-42), but went hitless in nine at-bats against the Braves'
pitchers as his average dropped to .353. Wright is 5-for-13 with a home run and six RBIs in three career games at Petco Park.

Carlos Delgado is 0-for-7 in the last two games after hitting safely
in 11 consecutive games. The Mets are 4-1 this season when he homers.

Xavier
Nady leads all New York regulars in batting at .373 and will face his
former team for the first time. Nady, who played with the Padres in his
first four major league seasons before being traded to the Mets in
November, batted .264 last season for San Diego.

“X is gonna
be an All-Star - if not this year, then soon,” said Padres ace Jake
Peavy, who will start Thursday. “He's playing as well as anybody in the
league now. I'm sure there will be a smirk or two when he steps in the
batter's box. Make no mistake, I'm going to try to get him out three or
four times, whatever it is.”

San Diego has won three of its last four games after opening the
season 3-7. Despite the crooked numbers, Peavy (1-2,
5.50 ERA) has pitched well in two of his three starts. In Saturday's loss to Atlanta he gave up just two
runs and four hits in seven innings. Peavy is 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA in six career starts against the
Mets

Trachsel (1-1, 4.09), gave up four runs in five innings in
Saturday's 8-2 loss to Milwaukee, pitching on 8 days rest. Trax is
6-8 with a 5.61 ERA in 16 lifetime outings against the Padres.

Beltran and Floyd are expected to return tonight, Kaz Matsui may be available to take over for the injured Anderson Hernandez. If not, expect Chris Woodward to take over second base duties until Kaz makes his way to the club.

Lineups will be posted when they are made available.

The Mets go for a sweep away from home and extend their hot start with Victor Zambrano facing Livan Hernandez. Victor finally gets a chance to start his first game this season, 14 days after he last threw. Zambrano was 7-12 last season, and has been
sidelined since March 31 when he strained his left hamstring.

Met coaches have remarked that in Spring Training, he looked better, throwing more easily and with more movement. In spring he pitched just 13 2/3 innings in three Spring Training appearances (one start) after
working merely 2 2/3 innings in two appearances in the World Baseball
Classic. His ERA for the 16 1/3 innings was 4.41, and he allowed 25
baserunners.

Zambrano lost his only two starts against the Nationals last season, allowing 10 runs in 9 1/3 innings. On the other side of the field, Livan Hernandez is winless with three losses in his last five starts against the Mets. His career record against the Mets is 10-11.

Ramon Castro will probably get his first start today, a day game after a night game. Castro has had some success against Hernandez, picking up four hits — including one home run — in 11 at-bats. Chris Woodward will start today, giving Anderson Hernandez a rest.

Here are the full lineups…

If the Nationals look for revenge, maybe they should plunk Pedro on the foot, as suggested by someone at yesterdays pre game workouts. Contrary to the numerous reports around the wire today, theres a baseball game being played tonight in D.C., with the threat of a boxing match as the undercard. Should a brawl ensue, I suggest the Mets steer clear of the 6'11″ wookie in the bullpen who is pretty upset about being away from his home on Endor.

Lets take a look at tonights matchup.

…Pedro Martinez has made 13 starts and compiled a 4-2 record against the
Expos/Nationals franchise that he pitched with for most of four
seasons. Jose Guillen has a .406 average in 32 at-bats against him. Pedro was not in his finest form in their last meeting at Shea, giving up four runs, four hits and five walks in six innings. Pedro still picked up a win thanks to the Mets thriving offense.

…Tony Armas Jr. is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA. Armas has a 5-3 record in
eight career starts against the Mets. Other than Cliff Floyd, no Met
has more than nine career at-bats against him. Armas and Carl Pavano were traded to Montreal, from Boston, in exchange for Martinez on Dec. 18, 1997

…speaking of which, Cliff Floyd has an opportunity to get going tonight after a slow start. He has nine hits, including two doubles, and five walks in 26 career plate appearances against Armas.

…Carlos Beltran has a well known knack for putting together a big game when Pedro takes the mound. He hit his first HR of the year in Pedro last start and has been heating up ever since. Beltran hit a 2 run blast last night off the facing of the upper deck at RFK.

…Washington has been unable to generate any offense, with 21 of its 37
runs coming in its two victories. The Nationals have scored eight runs
during the losing streak and Guillen is 3-for-18 since the last meeting
with Martinez.

Looks like todays game may have to wait awhile with some showers falling all morning long. Weather.com reports the showers should subside around 4PM. Enough of the weather talk, lets get to to todays matchup…

Two lefties go head to head, the veteran Glavine and the young phenom Dontrelle. Willie has given Chris Woodward a chance to play in place of Anderson Hernandez, Ramon Castro will be spelling Paul Lo Duca and Victor Diaz gives Cliff Floyd the day off. Here's how the lineup shakes out…

Reyes
Woodward
Beltran
Delgado
Wright
Nady
Castro
Diaz
Glavine

Willis allowed just one hit in five scoreless innings on
Opening Day at Houston but received a no decision.
Dontrelle has dominated the Mets throughout his career, 8-1 with a 1.85 ERA in 11 starts. Six of the eight players in the Marlins lineup have less than 100 at bats in the majors.

Tom Glavine (1-0), allowed just one run and six hits against Washington in
the Mets' 3-2 Opening Day win Monday. Glavine is just 1-6 in
11 starts against the Marlins since joining New York in 2003, losing his last 6 starts against them.

For those of you who still have Carlos Beltran in the doghouse, consider this…He only has two hits, but is tied for the team lead team in runs scored
and stolen bases, he is first in walks, and second in RBIs.

Looks like SNY will have to dig up some classic Mets video to keep us entertained. I think I may throw in Wedding Crashers for the 100th time. You can join us in the Bleachers as well to talk Mets baseball while you're waiting for them to pull the tarp.

You can also access the Bleachers through IRC, go to server name irc.echo34.com and channel #metsblog