Milwaukee @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( May 30, 2010 ) NY Mets 10, Milwaukee 4
For all that went wrong for the New York Mets this season, a lot went right when they played at Citi Field.
The Mets hope that home-field advantage can help them finish strong, as they begin a season-ending seven-game homestand with a four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Monday's series opener was postponed by rain and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday.
Not long after the All-Star break, the Mets faded from the National League playoff picture, but their play at home has remained a bright spot. They're 45-30 at Citi Field.
Mike Pelfrey, who will take the mound on Tuesday, has been a big part of that success. Pelfrey is 10-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 17 home starts this season, which has helped him establish a career-high for wins with a team-leading 15.
Despite the career-best numbers, it has been something of an inconsistent season for Pelfrey (15-9, 3.75 ERA), but he is on an upswing at the moment. The 26-year-old right-hander has posted three consecutive quality starts and won his last two decisions.
Pelfrey is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in two starts against the Brewers, but he hasn't faced them this season.
After enduring a six-game losing streak, the Mets won the last two contests of their three-game series with Philadelphia over the weekend, preventing the Phillies from clinching the NL East title at the time.
Carlos Beltran hit a pair of home runs in Sunday's 7-3 victory, his first multi-homer game of the season. Since seeing his average dip to .211 on Sept. 3, Beltran has hit .364 (24-for-66) with five home runs and 12 RBIs.
David Wright also went deep on Sunday, hitting his team-leading 26th home run of the season.
The Brewers also had a power surge Sunday, blasting four homers in a 7-1 win over the Florida Marlins. Ryan Braun hit two homers, giving him 25 for the fourth consecutive season to start his career, and Prince Fielder hit his team-leading 32nd.
Milwaukee has won four of five and seven of 11, giving the Brewers a shot at catching the Houston Astros for third place in the NL Central, but they'll have to finish strong on the road, where they're 33-41 this year.
The Brewers turn to 34-year-old left-hander Randy Wolf to try to get the season-ending road trip started on the right note.
Wolf (13-11, 4.24 ERA) has been fantastic in September, going 3-1 with a 1.21 ERA in four starts this month. He tossed a three-hit shutout on Sept. 17 against the San Francisco Giants and followed it up by holding the Cincinnati Reds to one run over six innings in a 13-1 win Wednesday.
Wolf is 12-5 with a 3.29 ERA in 31 career starts against the Mets. In his only outing against them this season, Wolf allowed two runs and five hits over five innings but didn't factor in the decision in a 10-4 loss on May 30.
Beltran is 11-for-32 (.344) with three homers and nine RBIs against Wolf, and Luis Castillo is 20-for-53 (.377) with a homer and five RBIs against him.
The series is the second between the teams this season. Milwaukee took two of three at Miller Park from May 28-30.