Schwei: Mets Look To Remain Beasts Vs. East

By John Schweibacher
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The Mets face a pair of National League East rivals this week as they visit the Phillies and Marlins.

The Amazin's took two of three in Philadelphia in their first series visit against the Phils last month and swept Miami in the three games played in New York.

Overall, the Mets are 10 and 5 so far this season against NL East opponents. New York has not posted a winning record vs. their division rivals since 2008:

Season W-L vs. NL East:

•2011 33-39
•2010 31-41
•2009 28-44
•2008 40-32

This weekend's series against Miami will be the Mets' first against the Marlins in their new ballpark. Here is how the Mets have fared the last 10 times they have played their first game at an opponent's new stadium:

•Yankee Stadium 6/12/09 Lost 9-8: Luis Castillo's infamous error on Alex Rodriguez' pop-up with two outs in the bottom of the 9th allows the tying and winning runs to score.

•Nationals Park 4/23/08 Won 7-2: Johan Santana goes seven innings for the win, beating future Mets pitcher Tim Redding.

•Busch Stadium 5/16/06 Won 6-3: Jose Reyes homers and drives in three as Tom Glavine beats Jeff Suppan.

•Citizens Bank Park 5/31/04 Won 5-3: Kaz Matsui goes 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Jason Phillips homers.

•Petco Park 4/30/04 Lost 7-6: Mets score five runs in the top of the first but cant hold lead, losing to future Mets pitcher Brian Lawrence.

•Great American Ballpark 7/4/03 Won 7-2: Jeromy Burnitz hits a three-run home run as Tom Glavine goes seven innings for the victory.

•PNC Park 9/17/01 Won 4-1: The Mets score three times in the top of the ninth to give John Franco the win as MLB season returns after 9-11.

•Miller Park 4/24/01 Lost 6-4: Richie Sexson, Jeromy Burnitz and Tyler Houston all homer. Future Mets reliever Mike DeJean gets the win.

•Minute Maid Park* 8/7/00 Won 6-5 (11): Down 5-4 in the ninth, Derek Bell ties the game with a solo home run off of former Met Octavio Dotel. Kurt Abbott homers two innings later to give Mets the win.

•AT & T Park* 5/1/00 Lost 10-3: Ex-Met Jeff Kent homers as does Barry Bonds. Future Met Shawn Estes gets the victory.

(The ballparks in Houston and San Francisco were formerly known as Enron Field and Pac Bell Park)

Johan Santana picked up his first win of the season, 4-3, against Arizona this past Saturday, stopping the Mets' four-game losing streak. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Santana now has a 10-4 record and a 2.39 ERA in 16 career starts with his team on a losing streak of four-or-more games.

Carlos Gonzalez of Colorado and Chris Johnson of Houston both had six RBI games against the Mets on New York's last road trip.

Both hitters fell one run batted in shy of equaling the record for most RBI's in a game vs. the Mets. Here are the nine players who share the mark of driving in seven runs in a game against the Mets:

•Willie McCovey at SF 7/4/62
•Adolfo Phillips at CHI 6/11/67
•Dick Allen vs. PHI 9/29/68
•Bob Bailey at MTL 7/3/73
•Bobby Higginson at DET 6/30/97
•Corey Paterson vs. CHI 3/31/03
•Alex Rodriguez at NYY 7/2/06
•Albert Pujols vs. STL 8/22/06
•Cody Ross at FLA 9/11/10

Despite a fractured pinkie, David Wright had an excellent April. The Mets third baseman hit .389, which according to the Elias Sports Bureau, was the fifth-best April batting average by a Mets regular in club history:

Kirk Nieuwenhuis' .325 April batting average was the third-best by a rookie regular in Mets' history:

Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:

Runs: Two-Out Runs. Mets have scored 30 runs with two outs over their last 12 games, giving them a total of 57 two-out runs this season.

Hits: Andres Torres. Career-high six-game hitting streak for the Mets center fielder, who is now batting .364 (8-for-22) over that stretch.

Errors: Ike Davis. Mets first baseman is now batting .061 (3-for-49) at Citi Field this season.

How will the Mets fare against the Phils and Marlins this week? Make your prediction below...

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