Detroit @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2010 ) Detroit 1, NY Mets 9
After their best road trip of the year, the New York Mets are eager to get back to Citi Field - even if the surging Detroit Tigers will be waiting for a chance to cut into the team's 24-10 home record.
The Mets return home after a 7-2 trip - before which they had an 8-18 road mark - but they lost some steam with consecutive losses to the New York Yankees over the weekend.
The setbacks saw the Mets lose ground to NL East leader Atlanta for the first time since June 2. After getting within a half-game of the Braves, the Mets have now fallen 2 1/2 games off the pace.
Now it's back to Citi Field, where they've won 10 of their last 11 and where they hit 22 points higher as a team.
Tuesday's starter, 23-year-old left-hander Jonathon Niese, has been terrific at home. He's 2-1 with a 2.65 ERA in six starts at Citi Field. In his last home start, he threw a one-hit shutout against the San Diego Padres on June 10.
Niese (4-2, 3.64 ERA) has won all three starts since returning from a stint on the disabled list - including his most recent one Wednesday at Cleveland, where he held the Indians to three runs on eight hits over seven innings. He is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA since coming off the disabled list.
Tigers starter Justin Verlander (8-4, 3.54 ERA) has put together his own three-game winning streak. He struck out 11 on Wednesday against the Washington Nationals, allowing three runs on seven hits over eight innings to improve to 3-0 in June and drop his ERA to 3.54 this month.
Like the Mets, the Tigers have battled their share of road woes. They're 13-19 away from Comerica Park and went 2-4 on their last road trip against the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox.
But they head to the Big Apple riding the momentum of an 8-1 homestand during which they shaved three games off Minnesota's lead in the AL Central, pulling within 1 1/2 games of the Twins.
Rookie outfielder Brennan Boesch has given the Tigers another powerful bat in the middle of the order, hitting .337 with 10 homers since being called up April 23. In 16 games since June 3, Boesch is hitting .371 with six homers and 14 RBIs.
Detroit hopes to also get a boost from the return of leadoff man Austin Jackson, who missed five games with a back injury before entering as a defensive replacement Sunday. The speedy center fielder is hitting .308 and has stolen 10 bases and scored 36 runs, so the Tigers need him at the top of their order.
The Mets are finally getting the production they need out of their leadoff man. Although he had his 11-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-4 showing Sunday, shortstop Jose Reyes is hitting .404 with four homers and seven RBIs in 12 games since June 8. Reyes has scored 12 runs during that span.
The man hitting behind Reyes - center fielder Angel Pagan - also has been on a tear. Pagan is 9-for-19 with five RBIs in the past five games.