It hasn’t been a good week for the New York Mets (63-84), who have lost five games in a row to officially get eliminated from playoff contention. The Mets have fallen into fourth place in the National League East, where they trail the rebuilding Atlanta Braves (67-79), who won the opener of a weekend series 3-2 last night. The two teams will continue their three game set tonight, with first pitch for the middle game of this series scheduled for 7:10 pm at SunTrust Park.
The Mets will send right hander Jacob deGrom (14-9, 3.63 ERA) to the mound today. deGrom has stumbled while trying to pick up his 15th win of the season, although he pitched well enough to beat the Cincinnati Reds last Sunday, when he allowed two runs in six innings of work. Unfortunately for deGrom, the Mets’ bullpen stunk in a 10-5 loss, denying deGrom a chance at a win and leaving him with a no decision. The Braves will counter with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (9-9, 4.28 ERA), a former Met. Dickey’s knuckle ball wasn’t working in his last start, as he gave up five runs in five innings against the Miami Marlins last Sunday, but was bailed out by the Braves’ offense. Atlanta rallied for a 10-8 win, sparing Dickey a loss and earning him a no decision instead.
Local Coverage:
Television: WPIX
Radio: WOR
New York Mets Lineup:
- RF Nori Aoki
- LF Brandon Nimmo
- 3B Asdrubal Cabrera
- 1B Dominic Smith
- C Travis d’Arnaud
- SS Amed Rosario
- CF Juan Lagares
- 2B Gavin Cecchini
- SP Jacob deGrom
Pre-Game Notes:
- deGrom is 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in two starts against the Braves this season.
- Dickey is 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA in two starts against the Mets this season.
- After sitting out yesterday with a knee issue, Travis d’Arnaud is back in the Mets’ lineup. d’Arnaud will catch and bat fifth.
- Nori Aoki is back in the lineup after getting a day off yesterday. Aoki will bat leadoff and play right field.
- After missing last night’s game with a hip pointer, Amed Rosario is back in the Mets’ lineup. Rosario will bat sixth and play shortstop.
- Jose Reyes will get a rare day off today. Gavin Cecchini will man second base once again and bat eighth.
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