Arizona @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 30, 2010 ) Arizona 9, NY Mets 6
The last-place Arizona Diamondbacks have just four wins in their last 15 games, but each victory has come at the expense of the struggling New York Mets, who are playing themselves right out of playoff contention yet again.
The Diamondbacks will try to continue their bizarre dominance of the Mets on Saturday in the middle contest of a three-game series.
Arizona (38-65) has been pitiful all season, but inexplicably the Diamondbacks have had the Mets’ number.
They swept a three-game series in Arizona from July 19-21. And on Friday, Arizona picked up where it left off, as Kelly Johnson and Miguel Montero homered in a five-run sixth inning and the Diamondbacks snapped a seven-game skid with a 9-6 victory.
Meanwhile, New York wasted a huge performance by David Wright, who returned after a rare day off to homer in his first two at bats and post five RBIs. It was the 14th loss in 19 games for the Mets, who now trail the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves by eight games and are six games out of the wild card race.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Mets are once again fading down the stretch, however. New York has stumbled seen this scenario play out in two of the last three seasons.
Arizona rookie right-hander Barry Enright (2-2, 2.73 ERA) contributed to the Mets' latest second-half swoon on July 20, when he allowed just one run and five hits in eight innings of a 3-2 win at Chase Field.
The 24-year-old allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings, but did not receive a decision in a 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. He won’t have to worry about facing Jason Bay, who was placed on the disabled list Friday with a concussion.
Enright will be opposed by Hisanori Takahashi (7-5, 4.47), who could be may be making his last appearance as a starter. He began the season in the bullpen and may be headed back if the Mets can swing a deal for a starter by Saturday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline.
The 35-year-old last pitched on Wednesday, when he threw a scoreless inning in the Mets' 13-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. In his last start, Takahashi yielded two runs and three hits in seven innings of a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.
Takahashi has never faced the Diamondbacks.