Florida @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 30, 2010 ) NY Mets 6, Florida 5
Over the first four months of the season, there weren't many pitchers better than Josh Johnson. Since late July, it would be difficult to find any better than R.A. Dickey.
Two of arguably the best pitchers in the National League square off on Tuesday when Johnson's Florida Marlins take on Dickey's New York Mets in the opener of their three-game series at Citi Field.
After allowing four runs over five innings on Opening Day against the Mets, Johnson went on an incredible run of 20 consecutive outings with three earned runs or fewer surrendered. However, the right-hander has had a pair of uncharacteristically sub-par performances this month, yielding five runs in 5 2/3 innings at the San Diego Padres on Aug. 1 and six runs in just 3 2/3 frames at the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 13 - both of which resulted in losses.
Thanks to those two bumps in the road, Johnson is 1-2 with a 4.42 ERA over his last six starts. But he rebounded from the poor effort against the Reds, ending his personal two-game losing streak by allowing just two runs and seven hits in eight innings en route to a 3-2 triumph at the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
Despite going 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in two starts against the Mets this year, Johnson owns a 7-1 record and 2.55 ERA in 11 career meetings with New York. The 26-year-old has had no problems with the key hitters in the Mets' lineup - David Wright is hitting .174 against Johnson, Jose Reyes is 4-for-19 (.211) and Carlos Beltran is batting .143.
In 11 road starts in 2010, Johnson is 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA.
Dickey, who made his season debut on May 19, has been nearly as spectacular for New York this year - especially over his last 10 starts. The knuckleballer has surrendered three earned runs or less nine times in that span and is 2-1 with a 1.79 ERA over his last six outings.
Over those six starts, Dickey kept the opposition off the scoreboard three times. He came within two outs of a complete-game shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 29 and accomplished the feat on August 13, tossing a one-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.
On Wednesday, Dickey was two outs away from a complete-game win over the Houston Astros but yielded a game-tying homer by Geoff Blum and immediately was taken out of the game. The Mets went on to win in 14 innings.
Dickey will be facing the Marlins for the third time this year. The 35-year-old went 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA in the first two encounters and is 2-2 with a 7.11 ERA in five career games - three starts - against Florida.
In six starts at home this season, Dickey is 5-1 with a 1.22 ERA. He has tossed 17 1/3 scoreless innings over his last two outings at Citi Field and has allowed runs in just two of the six home outings.
The Marlins, who have won three in a row on the road, had their five-game winning streak snapped with Sunday's 2-1 loss to Houston. New York, which has won three of five, has scored three runs or fewer in 10 of its last 13 games.
In seven home contests this month, the Mets have crossed the plate a total of 10 times.