Luis Castillo 2B
Alex Cora SS
David Wright 3B
Gary Sheffield RF
Fernando Tatis LF
Ryan Church CF
Nick Evans 1B
Omir Santos C
Tim Redding (1-3, 6.35 ERA) P
Yesterday’s win vs. the Brewers was a well-pitched game, but the Mets sole run, which came off a Church single that just barely made it into center field, was the difference. Once again, the Mets’ offense was stifled, only producing five hits. It’s always a little difficult, from a non-player’s perspective, to tell if it’s because the Mets weren’t swinging the bats well or if it was truly great pitching that kept them at bay. In the interest of being charitable, I’ll go with the latter.
It’s Redding’s turn to keep up the excellent starting pitching that Mike Pelfrey exhibited yesterday. Unfortunately, his track record at PNC Park doesn’t make that a likely scenario. Redding is 0-1, with a 6.38 ERA in five starts in Pittsburgh. His overall numbers vs. the Pirates are a lot better: 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA in 11 starts.
Castillo leads off today, whereas yesterday Cora was in the No. 1 hole. I’m not sure I’m following Jerry Manuel’s seemingly arbitrary flip-flopping of the leadoff spot in the lineup. You’d think he’d want some consistency at the top of the order. There have been a ton of players in the first two spots, including in addition to Cora and Castillo, Argenis Reyes, Daniel Murphy, Tatis and Fernando Martinez.
Another interesting note is that Church is playing center field. This is the first time that I can remember that he’s played center field as a Met. He plays a great right field, so let’s hope that translates well to center.
Stay tuned for inning-by-inning updates.