San Diego @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 2, 2010 ) NY Mets 1, San Diego 5
After a brief bump in the road, New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey is back to cruising toward a career year. The San Diego Padres would prefer they didn't make their second consecutive contribution to Pelfrey's breakout season.
The 26-year-old right-hander Pelfrey takes on the first-place Padres on Tuesday at Citi Field, just a week after shutting them down in San Diego. Pelfrey (8-1, 2.39 ERA) racked up a season-high eight strikeouts in a 4-2 victory last Tuesday, limiting the Padres to one run on four hits over eight innings.
It was the fourth consecutive win for Pelfrey, who has regained his early-season form after a brief winless stretch in early May. He allowed six, three and four runs in his first three starts that month, marking the only times in his 11 starts this season he has surrendered more than two runs.
Pelfrey has been especially dominant at home, where he is 5-0 with a 2.05 ERA in seven starts. He was the only Mets starter to beat the Padres last week at Petco Park, where San Diego took two of three.
As for 26-year-old left-hander Clayton Richard, he was the starter in one of those victories, though he didn't factor in the decision.
Richard (4-3, 2.87 ERA) has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his 11 starts. That includes last Wednesday's outing against the Mets, in which he gave up one run on four hits in six innings in the Padres' 5-1 victory, which San Diego won on Adrian Gonzalez's grand slam in the 11th.
Richard has been a big part of San Diego's surprisingly solid rotation, which has helped the Padres to the best record in the National League in spite of a spotty offense.
Aside from an 18-run outburst in the opening game of that series, San Diego hasn't been lighting up the scoreboard much the past couple of weeks. But it hasn't needed to, because the Padres' pitching staff continues to be one of the best in the majors.
San Diego ranks 12th in the NL in runs, 13th in team batting average and 15th in home runs, but the Padres boast the NL's second-best team ERA and rank second in strikeouts.
The Padres can also attribute some of their success to the National League's best road record at 16-11, but they take that mark to a tough park this week - as the Mets boast the league's best home record. New York is 22-9 at Citi Field.
The Mets kept up their dominance at home over the weekend, sweeping three from the struggling Florida Marlins. They've won five of seven and have enjoyed the resurgence of third baseman David Wright during that stretch. Wright is 13-for-25 with two homers and six RBIs over the past seven games.
Outfielder Jeff Francoeur also has turned things around after a prolonged slump. Francoeur has a 10-game hitting streak during which he is 18-for-36 with a homer and eight RBIs. He has had multiple hits in four of his last five games and six of his last eight.
Gonzalez has been San Diego's hottest hitter. He broke up Cole Hamels' no-hit bid with a solo homer in the seventh inning Monday, and he added another solo shot in the ninth to lead the Padres to a 3-1 win. Gonzalez is 11-for-22 with four homers and 10 RBIs in his last five games.
Padres catcher Nick Hundley also has been hot, going 12-for-23 with two homers and eight RBIs in his last seven games.