The New York Mets will try to bounce back from a bitter defeat last night in which numerous opportunities to put runs on the board were wasted and a relief pitcher beat them in the batter's box. With the win, the Florida Marlins are just one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East and their pitching remains the core of their success, but a victory for the Mets tonight would earn them a feel-good split of the two-game series heading into another short series with the Washington Nationals.
Tonight, the Marlins will toss out right-hander Ricky Nolasco, who has been excellent this year, with a 3-0 record, 3.02 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, but is 5-6 with a 5.26 ERA against the Mets in his career. Jon Niese will attempt to put his last outing, a five-run, six-inning stint at Coors Field, behind him. Before that start Niese had allowed more than two runs just once in four outings. Now, more than ever, New York needs its starters to give them quality outings because of Ike Davis and David Wright's absence from the linceup.
Official word of Wright's disabled list placement hasn't been made yet, but it's safe to say that Justin Turner (and sometimes Willie Harris) will man third base while he's out. After last night's game, the Mets sent Ryota Igarashi and Chin-Lung Hu down to Triple-A, activating Pedro Beato from the DL and recalling Ruben Tejada. Tejada will most likely play second base and the team is expected to promote Nick Evans once Wright's DL stint is made official, which it should by tonight's game.