New York @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 12, 2009 ) NY Mets 6, Arizona 4
The New York Mets are finally getting healthy, and they hope that development will help stop their slide in the NL East standings.
The Mets are expected to be at full strength when they open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday at Chase Field - and that's something they haven't been able to say for more than a year.
If all goes as planned, Mets manager Jerry Manuel will pencil in shortstop Jose Reyes and center fielder Carlos Beltran when he fills out his lineup card on Monday, marking the first time the duo have played together since May 20, 2009.
Second baseman Luis Castillo also is slated to return to the lineup after a stint on the disabled list with a bruised right heel.
The Mets need their stars desperately. They've lost seven of their last 10 - and they've lost three games in the NL East standings in the process, falling five games back of the division-leading Atlanta Braves.
In addition, they haven't scored more than four runs in their last nine games.
Having Reyes back in the leadoff spot after missing the last five games and fighting a strained oblique muscle for three weeks ought to help. Reyes hit .372 with five homers in the 20 games prior to suffering the injury June 29.
And slotting Beltran into the middle of the lineup already has paid dividends. After missing the entire first half of the season while recovering from knee surgery, Beltran went 4-for-12 with a double and a triple in three games against San Francisco over the weekend.
Heading to Arizona could be seen as a good thing, too, even though the Mets are 18-28 on the road. The Diamondbacks have lost four straight, continuing a rough season. They have been mired in last place in the NL West for more than two months - and they're 15 games behind fourth-place Los Angeles, so it's unlikely that will change any time this season.
They'll try to turn things around against 26-year-old right-hander Mike Pelfrey, who hopes to reverse an alarming trend. Pelfrey (10-4, 3.58 ERA) was one of the best starters in the National League for the first two months of the season, but he has hit a rough patch recently. In his last three starts, he is 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA.
In his last start, Pelfrey lasted only four innings and allowed four runs on 12 hits in a 4-0 loss to Atlanta.
The Diamondbacks have given Pelfrey problems throughout his career - he is 0-4 with a 5.22 ERA in five starts against them. First baseman Adam LaRoche has been particularly pesky for Pelfrey, going 6-for-7 against him.
Arizona counters with 25-year-old right-hander Ian Kennedy, whose season has followed a similar arc to that of Pelfrey.
After losing four consecutive starts, Kennedy (4-7, 4.12 ERA) inched back toward his solid early-season form his last time out, earning a win against the Florida Marlins on July 10. He held the Marlins to two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings.