Milwaukee @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 28, 2010 ) Milwaukee 3, NY Mets 4
A pair of pitchers at vastly different points on their career arcs will look to add to their career-high win totals when the New York Mets take on the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of a doubleheader today at Citi Field.
Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo (14-7, 3.57 ERA) set a career-best mark for wins his last time out, holding Florida to three runs over 6 2/3 innings in an 8-3 victory.
After a rough stretch at the end of August, Gallardo has regained his form this month. The 24-year-old right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA in four September outings - all quality starts - and has won his last three times out.
Gallardo has been dominant in three starts against the Mets, allowing only one run over 22 innings for a 0.41 ERA. His record against New York is only 1-1, though, a product of poor run support. Milwaukee has scored a total of two runs in the three games Gallardo has started against the Mets.
The Brewers didn't give him much support in his one start against the Mets this season, but it didn't matter. Gallardo struck out seven in an eight-hit shutout May 28 in Milwaukee, beating New York 2-0.
Mets third baseman David Wright, who hit his 27th home run in New York's 4-3 victory Tuesday, is 0-for-8 with five strikeouts against Gallardo.
Veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey hopes to continue the trend of keeping the Brewers off the scoreboard when Gallardo pitches.
Dickey (11-8, 2.92 ERA) has made only one start and two relief appearances against the Brewers and boasts a 1-0 record and a 3.60 ERA against them. The start - and the win - came May 30 in Milwaukee, where he allowed four runs over seven innings in a 10-4 victory, the second of six consecutive wins to begin his tenure with the Mets.
Dickey's record since that hot start has been spotty, but his performance has been consistently solid. He holds a slim edge over Johan Santana for the best ERA among the regular members of the Mets' starting rotation and he has surpassed his previous career high of nine wins set in 2003 with Texas.
The 35-year-old right-hander has lost his last two starts, though, including a 3-2 loss to the Phillies on Friday in which he allowed three runs - two earned - over six innings.
The Mets have won three straight, and the latest came in dramatic fashion. Rookie infielder Ruben Tejada laced a two-run double off Milwaukee closer John Axford in the bottom of the ninth Tuesday to give New York a victory in the series opener and even the season series at two games apiece.
The series was supposed to begin Monday, but that game was postponed because of rain, prompting today's doubleheader. New York's Jonathon Niese and Milwaukee's Dave Bush will square off in the nightcap.