Schwei: Goin' Deep At Citi Field; Cubs, Dodgers On Tap For Mets

By John Schweibacher
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The Mets will look to bounce back after dropping the rubber game of the Subway Series to the Yankees as they head to Chicago and Los Angeles.

The Mets were done in by three-run homers in this weekend's losses to the Yanks, one by Raul Ibanez in Saturday night's defeat and again on Sunday night by Nick Swisher.

Ibanez's homer moved him atop the leaderboard for home runs hit at Citi Field by a Mets opponent:

•Raul Ibanez 6
•Troy Tulowitzki 5
•Ryan Howard 5
•Dan Uggla 5
•Chase Utley 5
•Joey Votto 5

Daniel Murphy has not hit a home run this season in 268 at bats. Murphy still has more than half a season to hit one, but if he does not he will find himself on this list; most at-bats in a season for the Mets without a home run:

Ike Davis' grand slam broke a scoreless tie in the Mets' 5-0 win over the Orioles last Monday. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the eighth time a Mets player hit a grand slam in interleague play, but only the second in the Mets' home ballpark. The other was by David Wright against Orioles pitcher Adam Loewen (now an outfielder for the Mets at Triple-A Buffalo) at Shea in 2006.

Here is a list of the eight Mets interleague grand slams:

•6/09/00 Mike Piazza at NYY
•7/18/00 Mike Piazza at Tor
•6/15/03 Jose Reyes at Ana
•6/18/06 David Wright vs. Bal
•6/27/08 Carlos Delgado at NYY
•6/28/11 Jason Bay at Det
•6/28/11 Carlos Beltran at Det
•6/18/12 Ike Davis vs. Bal

Davis is still hitting below .200 this season (.190 in 221 at bats). Only 11 players in Mets history have had at least 200 at bats in a season and finished with a batting average below .200, and it's only happened once in the last 35 years:

Mets pitchers held Baltimore without a run until the eighth inning of their series finale with the Orioles, snapping the Mets' season-high 29-inning scoreless streak. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the Mets' third scoreless streak of at least 25 innings this season. The Mets have had only one other season in which they had at least three scoreless streaks of 25-or-more innings; their first World Championship season of 1969.

The Mets close out June with a seven-game road trip that begins with a three-game set against the Cubs at Wrigley Field and a four-game series with the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

This will be the first meeting of 2012 between the Mets and Cubs. Chicago took four of the six games against the Mets in 2011, including two of three at Wrigley. The Mets have not won a series against the Cubs in Chicago since 2007. The last time the Mets swept a three-game series at Wrigley Field was in the season opening three-game set back in April of 1994.

The Mets and Dodgers also meet for the first time this season this weekend at Dodger Stadium. New York took five of the seven games against L.A. last year, including three of four on the road. A 6-1, Clayton Kershaw victory in the series finale prevented the Mets from completing what would have been their first-ever four game sweep at Dodger Stadium.

Both the Cubs and Dodgers will make their lone visits to Citi Field on each of the Mets next two homestands.

Schwei's Runs, Hits and Errors:

Runs: R.A. Dickey. Knuckleballer' streak without allowing an earned run comes to an end after 44 and 2/3 innings, the second-best in club history.

Hits: David Wright. Extends hitting streak to 14 in Sunday night's loss, his third stretch of hitting in 10-or-more games in 2012.

Errors: Bullpen Woes Continue. Mets relievers Jon Rauch and Miguel Batista take losses against Yankees giving Mets pen 17 losses this season, tied for the second most in MLB.

Will the Mets bounce back this week? Make your prediction for the road trip in the comments below...

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