Houston @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 19, 2010 ) NY Mets 2, Houston 3
For a team that would seem to have nothing to play for, the Houston Astros could have fooled the Philadelphia Phillies, finishing a four-game sweep of the National League East contenders Thursday.
Now the surging Astros take their five-game winning streak to Citi Field to take on the New York Mets.
The teams split a four-game series in Houston from Aug. 16-19, and the Astros have won five of seven since.
They got some help this week from a pair of pitchers who punished their former team, as Brett Myers and J.A. Happ beat the Phillies in the first and third games of Houston's first four-game sweep in Philadelphia since September 1999.
They hope to see 36-year-old right-hander Nelson Figueroa (3-1, 2.98 ERA) do the same to the team that drafted him tonight.
Figueroa, who went 6-11 with a 4.28 ERA for the Mets in 2008 and 2009, is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season to go with 20 relief appearances. He hasn't allowed more than one earned run in any of his three starts. He has gone 1-0 with a 2.42 ERA in 10 appearances since the Astros claimed off waivers from the Phillies on July 21.
The Astros moved him into the rotation Aug. 17 for a start against the Mets, and he responded by holding his former team to two runs - one earned - over five innings, though he didn't factor in the decision in Houston's 4-3 win.
His second start for Houston went even better, as he limited Florida to one run over six innings while striking out seven, though he again missed out on the win in a 2-1 victory.
Figueroa also made two relief appearances against the Mets for Philadelphia in May, allowing three runs on four hits in an inning of work May 25 and tossing a perfect inning the next day.
Even as Philadelphia and division leader Atlanta have struggled the past week, the Mets were unable to make up much ground. They've lost three of four to remain in fourth place in the NL East, 10 games behind the Braves.
They hope 26-year-old right-hander Mike Pelfrey can help them chip one game off that deficit tonight.
After suffering through a rough July and starting August in the same fashion, Pelfrey (12-7, 3.80 ERA) has turned things around to win two of his last three starts. He has posted three consecutive quality starts, including Friday at Pittsburgh, where he held the Pirates to two runs - one earned - over eight innings for his 12th win.
Another win tonight would match Pelfrey's career high set in 2008, when he went 13-11.
Pelfrey has made four starts against the Astros in his career, going 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA. The last time he faced Houston, the result was a complete-game victory in which he allowed six hits in a 9-1 win two years ago.
Astros outfielder Hunter Pence, who is 22-for-61 (.361) with five home runs over his past 15 games, is 4-for-10 against Pelfrey.
New York is likely to be without shortstop Jose Reyes, who left in the second inning of Thursday's 11-4 loss to Florida with a right oblique strain, the same injury that bothered him earlier this season. Reyes is listed as day-to-day, but the Mets said he will be held out of baseball activities until he is pain-free.
With Reyes likely sidelined, the Mets will need David Wright to continue his hot hitting. The All-Star third baseman is 17-for-40 (.425) with four home runs in his past 10 games.