Today at 2:15 ET, the Mets begin a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 
The Cardinals are currently 72-62, in second place in NL Central and currently leading the race for the second wild card spot by a half game over the Dodgers. The Cardinals have one of the most dangerous offenses in baseball. After losing Albert Pujols in free agency this winter, multiple players have stepped up in his absence, including Yadier Molina, who got a new contract extension last winter.
The St. Louis starting rotation has also improved over last year, despite Chris Carpenter‘s health problems. Kyle Lohse has stepped up and has become the ace of the staff. He is having a career year, with an ERA well under three and a record of 14-2.
This should be a very tough series for the Mets to win. They definitely won’t be able to out-hit them, because their offense is just too dangerous. Luckily, the pitching matchups favor the Mets a little bit in this series, so maybe they could get lucky and take two of three. A playoff spot seems like a dream at this point. The Mets need to win the vast majority of their September games, especially ones against playoff contenders like the Cardinals, in order to have any shot at the playoffs.
But let’s just win this series before we start going crazy about the playoffs…
Team Comparison
Pitching Matcups
Game 1- Today 1:15
Collin McHugh (1 GS, 7 IP, 2 H, BB, 9 K)
vs.
Joe Kelly (81.2 IP, 108 ERA+, 2.00 K/BB)
Game 2- Tuesday 8:15
Matt Harvey (42.1 IP, 140 ERA+, 2.88 K/BB)
vs.
Jaime Garcia (85.2 IP, 86 ERA+, 2.96 K/BB)
Game 3- Wednesday 1:45
R.A. Dickey (191.1 IP, 145 ERA+, 4.32 K/BB)
vs.
Adam Wainwright (168.2 IP, 99 ERA+, 3.88 K/BB)
Offensive Threats
- Matt Holliday- .305/..397/.526, 25 HR, 10.1 BB%, 18.1 K%
- Allen Craig- .309/.365/.556, 20 HR, 8.4 BB%, 19.0 K%
- Yadier Molina- .322/.373/.506, 17 HR, 6.8 BB%, 9.8 K%
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