The New York Mets (20-13) have suffered back-to-back losses at the hands of the Chicago Cubs (17-15) in their ongoing four-game series at Wrigley Field. With Matt Harvey starting later tonight for New York, will the Mets be able to win their first in this series? Or will the Cubs make it three in a row against New York?
In another ball game tonight, the Twins and the Tigers play Game 2 of their own three-game series. Click here for a detailed preview of that game.
The Dark Knight of Gotham AKA Matt Harvey steps on the mound for the Mets later tonight, and he is eyeing a win after taking his first loss of the season. In his most recent start, Harvey gave up three runs on six hits—including a homer—in six innings of pitching duty in the Mets’ 3-1 loss to Philadelphia on May 8. Nevertheless, Harvey’s 5-1 record and 2.72 ERA remain impressive.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Harvey’s workload, meanwhile, is still under close monitoring by the Mets after the pitcher missed all of last season to recover from a Tommy John surgery. But even if Harvey does exit early against Chicago, the Mets’ pitching will still appear to be in good shape thanks to its reliable bullpen. Among all bullpens in the majors, the Mets’ relievers are third in saves (15) and sixth in ERA with a 2.41 clip.
Curtis Granderson is 6-for-17 (.353) with two homers in his career against Jason Hammel, who’ll be pitching later tonight for the Cubs. Daniel Murphy is 4-for-8 (.500) with just one strikeout in the same matchup. Murphy is also the Mets’ most consistent hitter over the last seven days, going 7-for-24 (.292) at the plate in six games.
Jason Hammel (3-1, 3.52 ERA) is still chasing his first career win against the Mets. Since breaking into the majors in 2006, Hammel has had three starts against the Mets, accumulating a frustrating 0-3 record in four starts and an equally disappointing 6.33 ERA. None of those starts, however, was at Wrigley Field, where Hammel has traditionally pitched well. In fact, Hammel enters tonight’s ball game carrying a 5-1 record and a 2.58 ERA in 10 career starts at the Friendly Confines.
Backing Hammel is a Cubs’ offense that is slowly getting additional power from rookie Kris Bryant. Bryant has three home runs in four games, including one in the Cubs’ 6-1 win on Tuesday night. He also went 3-for-4 in that game, raising his season batting average to .276.
With Bryant’s power now showing up, manager Joe Maddon may bring the youngster back to being the teams’ cleanup hitter sooner than later. Bryant has batted second over the last six Cubs games, hitting 6-for-23 during that stretch.
Outfielder Jorge Soler, meanwhile, is hitting .333/.379/.519 over the team’s last seven games.
