On the Mets beat

Greetings, Mets fans! I’m David Cassilo, and I will be taking you through tonight’s rubber game between the Mets and the Dodgers.

The Mets are coming off a victory (a rare thing to say these days), and tonight will look to win their first series since taking three of four from St. Louis from June 22-25. Since the first of June, the Mets have won just two series.

Last night, Oliver Perez tiptoed his way around seven walks to earn the victory after allowing just two runs over five innings. He was helped out by what can be considered an offensive explosion for this Mets lineup, as they were able to score five runs, which were enough to beat the Dodgers by one.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Tonight the Mets will send Livan Hernandez (5-4, 4.56 ERA) to the hill. Last time out, Hernandez had his worst start of the season, giving up seven runs and ten hits in three innings in a loss to Philadelphia.

However, the good news for the Mets is that Hernandez pitched very well against the Dodgers earlier in the season, allowing just one run over seven innings in a no decision on May 20.

In 29 career starts against the Dodgers, Hernandez is 9-13 with a 4.30 ERA. He may want to pitch around Manny Ramirez tonight, as the right fielder is 5-for-8 with a home run in his career against Hernandez.

For the Dodgers, 32-year old left-hander Randy Wolf (3-3, 3.49 ERA) will try to pitch the team to victory tonight. Wolf gave up just one run in six innings in a no decision against San Diego in his last start.

Wolf has dominated the Mets during his career, going 11-5 with a 3.30 ERA against New York in 29 career starts. Earlier this season, Wolf gave up two runs in 7.2 innings against the Mets in a no decision on May 18. In his last eight starts against the Mets, Wolf is 5-0.

It is a bit shocking to see Fernando Tatis in the lineup tonight for the Mets. In 28 career at-bats against Wolf, Tatis has just two hits and nine strikeouts.

I’ll be back for first pitch.

Top of the first: Rafael Furcal hits a ground rule double off the left field line that skipped into the crowd in foul territory. Andre Ethier singles to left field. Manny Ramirez singles up the middle to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Casey Blake flies out to center field. James Loney walks. Russell Martin strikes out swinging. Orlando Hudson hits a 3-RBI double to make the score 4-0. Hudson is caught trying to advance to third.

Bottom of the first: Luis Castillo grounds out to second base. Nick Evans walks. David Wright singles to right field. Gary Sheffield hits an RBI single to center field, and the Mets trail 4-1. Fernando Tatis flies out the warning track in left field. Ryan Church grounds out to second base.

Top of the second: Matt Kemp singles to left field. Randy Wolf sacrifices to the pitcher. Kemp is picked off second base. Furcal singles into left field. Ethier walks. Ramirez hits an RBI single to left field on the first pitch to give the Dodgers a 5-1 lead. With runners on first and second, Blake hits an RBI single to left field to extend the lead to 6-1. Loney flies out to center field.

Bottom of the second: Omir Santos grounds out to shortstop. Alex Cora grounds out to shortstop. Livan Hernandez singles into left field. Castillo walks. Evans grounds out to the pitcher.

Top of the third: Martin lines out to first. Hudson grounds out to first. Kemp singles into right field. Wolf grounds out to second base.

Bottom of the third: Wright singles to right field. Sheffield flies out to right field. Tatis doubles to left field to give the Mets runners on second and third with one out. Church hits an RBI groundout to make the score 6-2 Dodgers. Santos strikes out swinging.

Top of the fourth: Furcal doubles over Sheffield's head in right field. Ethier strikes out swinging. Ramirez walks. Blake lines out to second base, and the Mets appeared to have doubled up Furcal at second, but the umpire called him safe. Loney walks to load the bases. Martin hits a 2-RBI single to right field to give the Dodgers an 8-2 lead. Loney is thrown out trying to go first to third, although it looked like he may have been safe.

Bottom of the fourth: Cora grounds out to first base. Argenis Reyes pinch-hits for Hernandez and grounds out to second base. Castillo flies out to right field.

Final line for Hernandez: 4 IP 11 H 8 ER 4 BB 2 K

Top of the fifth: Pat Misch comes in to pitch for the Mets. Hudson grounds out to shortstop. Kemp lines out to shortstop. Wolf strikes out swinging.

Bottom of the fifth: Evans flies out to right field. Wright grounds out to third base. Sheffield doubles into the left-center gap. Tatis strikes out swinging.

Top of the sixth: Furcal walks. Ethier grounds into a fielder's choice. Jerry Manuel pulls Misch from the game.

Brian Stokes is in to pitch. Ramirez walks. Blake grounds out to shortstop. Loney walks. Martin grounds out to shortstop.

Bottom of the sixth: Church pops out to shortstop. Santos pops out to second base. Cora grounds out to third base.

Top of the seventh: Stokes hits Hudson in the knee with the first pitch. He has to come out of the game, and Juan Castro will replace him. Kemp walks. Wolf strikes out trying to bunt. Furcal strikes out swinging. Ethier strikes out swinging.

Bottom of the seventh: Juan Pierre replaces Ramirez in left field. Daniel Murphy pinch hits for Stokes and strikes out looking. Castillo hits a ground rule double over the right field wall. Wolf is pulled from the game.

James McDonald comes in to pitch for the Dodgers. Evans strikes out swinging. Wright walks. Sheffield strikes out looking, and then is ejected for arguing the third strike call.

Final line on Wolf: 6.1 IP 7 H 2 ER 2 BB 3 K

Top of the eighth: Murphy stays in to play first base, and Tatis moves to right field. Tim Redding is in to pitch. Pierre grounds out to first base. Blake singles down the right field line. Loney doubles to left field. Martin is intentionally walked to load the bases. Juan Castro hits a 2-RBI single to right field, and the score is 10-2. Matt Kemp hits an RBI single to center field to make it 11-2. McDonald strikes out looking. Furcal grounds out to second base.

Bottom of the eighth: Blake DeWitt replaces Blake at third base. Tatis walks. Church grounds into a 4-6-3 double play. Santos flies out to center field.

-David Cassilo

Another day, another player on the DL. This time it's Fernando Martinez, who was placed on the disabled list today with inflammation behind his right knee. Argenis Reyes, demoted after Tuesday's game for Oliver Perez, has been rushed back to take the roster spot.

Here's the lineup:

Castillo ............ 2B
Evans .............. LF
Wright ............. 3B
Sheffield .......... RF
Tatis ................ 1B
Church ............. CF
Santos .............. C
Cora ................ SS
Hernandez ....... SP

I was a little surprised last night by how defensive a few of the Mets were about Oliver Perez, who threw 108 pitches in five innings and was extremely lucky to exit with a 5-2 lead.

Brian Schneider, fresh off watching the SNY postgame show somewhere in the catacombs of the clubhouse, swatted away questions about Perez's wildness and instead focused on his ability to get "big" outs.

Fine. I understand that wins for the Mets these days are about as frequent as Donald Trump sightings in Flushing, so I shouldn't expect Ollie's teammates to be overly critical of his performance. Even Jerry Manuel, who must have going crazy in the dugout, bit his tongue after the game and went easy on Perez. The same can't be said for Newsday's own Wally Matthews.

But for $36 million, a supposedly healthy Perez has to do a better job. He pitched like a 20-year-old kid rushed up from Double-A Binghamton for a spot start. And when Perez missed the strike zone, which he did often, it wasn't even close. Pitching coach Dan Warthen will have his hands full fine-tuning Perez for his next start, which, mercifully, won't be until after the All-Star break.

In other news, Carlos Delgado, who is the only one actually making progress on the DL, took ground balls at first base yesterday and appears to be ahead of schedule. How about Daniel Murphy's behind-the-back alley-oop to Bobby Parnell? Newsday's David Casillo has all the details here.

Good evening! Adam Ronis here to take you through tonight's game. Forget about the Mets winning a game right now. The bigger question is will the Mets score a run? They haven't done so in 22 innings. When they score, a parade will be held.

The lineups
Mets (39-43)
Cora (SS)
Murphy (1B)
Wright (3B)
Sheffield (LF)
Church (RF)
Reed (CF)
Schneider (C)
Castillo (2B)
Perez (P)

Dodgers (53-30)
Furcal (SS)
Hudson (2B)
Ramirez (LF)
Blake (3B)
Loretta (1B)
Martin (C)
Ethier (RF)
Kemp (CF)
Kuroda (P)

On Oliver Perez:Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, Perez returns. Which Perez will show up? He is 1-2 with a 9.97 ERA in five starts and makes his first start since May 2 when he was placed on the disabled list with patellar tendinitis in his right knee. Perez walked nine in 9 1/3 innings in two starts at Triple-A Buffalo.

On Hiroki Kuroda: Ok, Mets fans. Here's a ray of hope. The Mets are hitting .441 against Kuroda in two career starts. He is 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA and didn't last longer than 3 1/3 innings in either start. I know that this lineup can't even hit Rodrigo Lopez, but I am trying really hard to give you guys some hope. I'm sure it didn't work. Kuroda started April 6 and was on the disabled list until June 1. He is 3-4 with a 3.91 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and has allowed 40 hits, walked nine and struck out 37 in 48 1/3 innings. Opponents are batting .223 off him.

Stats and notes.Manny Ramirez is batting .273 (3-for-11) with a homer and four RBIs since returning from his suspension...The Mets have lost four straight and 9 of 11...David Wright has no hits in his last 16 at-bats. He has six hits in his last 46 at-bats (.130).

A look at the standings. The Mets are now in fourth place in the NL East trailing the first-place Phillies by 4 1/2 games. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and lead the wild-card leading Giants (46-37) by 7 1/2 games in the NL West. The Giants lost to the Marlins, 7-0 this afternoon. The Braves defeated the Cubs, 4-1.

Interesting development today: Carlos Delgado was taking ground balls at first base. Looked pretty good, too.

Cora - ss
Murphy - 1b
Wright - 3b
Sheffield - lf
Church - rf
Reed - cf
Schneider - c
Castillo - 2b
Perez - sp

Good evening everyone. Adam Ronis here to take you through tonight’s game. If you’re a Mets fans, it’s not a good time right now. The injuries, a putrid offense, lack of fundamental baseball and a three-game sweep by the first-place Phillies over the weekend have fans feeling down as the Mets have lost eight of 10. Things don’t appear much brighter with the Dodgers, the best team in the majors, visiting for three games with Manny Ramirez back.

The lineups
Mets (39-42)
Castillo (2B)
Cora (SS)
Wright (3B)
Sheffield (RF)
Tatis (1B)
Church (CF)
Evans (LF)
Santos (C)
Pelfrey (P)

Dodgers (52-30)
Furcal (SS)
Hudson (2B)
Ramirez (LF)
Blake (3B)
Loney (1B)
Martin (C)
Ethier (RF)
Kemp (CF)
Kershaw (P)

On Mike Pelfrey: Pelfrey is coming off a great start against the Brewers. He went 7 2/3 innings and allowed six hits for just his second win in 10 starts. He is 6-3 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. In 88 2/3 innings, he has allowed 97 hits, walked 31 and struck out just 43. Pelfrey is not missing many bats, but he keeps the ball on the ground and has allowed just six home runs. Pelfrey had a 6.39 ERA in June.

On Clayton Kershaw: The lefthander is 5-5 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. He has allowed just 63 hits in 87 2/3 innings and opponents are batting just .207 off him. Kershaw has great stuff, especially his curveball. He’s 21 and hasn’t pitched above Double-A, so he can be inconsistent. His biggest problem is control. He tends to walk a lot of hitters preventing him from going deep in games. He has issued at least four walks in 7 of his last 10 starts and leads the NL with 52 walks. He has allowed two runs in his last four starts and has struck out 26 in 23 2/3 innings. On Wednesday against the Rockies, he went five innings and allowed one hit, walked five and struck out five. Kershaw faced the Mets last season on May 30 and went 3 2/3 innings giving up five hits and four runs. He has lasted just six innings twice since the beginning of June.

Injury news. Jose Reyes still feels pain in his right leg and had a cortisone shot in his torn right hamstring today and there is no timetable for his return. Carlos Beltran will need a rehabilitation assignment before he returns. Carlos Delgado is hitting off a tee, but isn't expected back until mid-August.

Give me amnesia please! The Dodgers bring back bad memories and I’m not even talking 1988. The Mets were swept in a three-game series in Los Angeles in May, highlighted by Ryan Church failing to touch third base and a five-error extra inning loss.

Wright is wrong. David Wright was elected to start at third base by the fans for the National League All-Star game but his streaky season has hit another low. He is 5-for-40 with one homer and three RBIs in his last 10 games. He has started all but one of the Mets’ 81 games and went 0-for-11 against the Phillies over the weekend.

Mannywood comes to New York. Manny Ramirez returned from his 50-game suspensions on Friday and will garner a lot of the spotlight tonight. Ramirez is hitting .333 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 30 games. He went 1-for-7 with a homer over the weekend against the Padres. The Dodgers are 22-8 when Ramirez plays.

O-Dog lacking bite. A lot of Mets fans clamored for Orlando Hudson and the second baseman made the All-Star team. He hasn’t been very good lately and didn’t start Saturday and Sunday. He has no hits in his past 22 at-bats and is 1-for-28 in the past eight games.

Niese on the way? Lefthander Jon Niese was named the International League Pitcher of the Week. He shutout Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Notes and stats. The Dodgers are 18-8 in one-run games…The Dodgers swept a three-game series from the Mets in May and held the Mets to six runs…Rafael Furcal has had a disappointing season, but went 8-for-16 with four runs against the Padres over the weekend…Fernando Tatis has hit into 11 double plays…Oliver Perez will make his return and start tomorrow.

A look at the standings. The Mets are 4 ½ games behind the first-place Phillies (43-37), who won 22-1 over the Reds yesterday. The Marlins are second (43-41) and the Braves (39-43) are ½ game behind the Mets…The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and lead the NL West by seven games over the wild-card leading Giants (45-37).

Mets are currently taking infield, which involves a drill calling for shallow pop-ups. I'm not joking. Haven't seen this since spring training. They've got the machine out and everything.

Anyway, here's the lineup:

Castillo - 2b
Cora - ss
Wright - 3b
Sheffield - rf
Tatis - 1b
Church - rf
Evans - lf
Santos - c
Pelfrey - sp

Sorry for the sarcasm, but it's baby steps first for the Mets, who should have some injured players return gradually over the next few weeks. Say what you want about Oliver Perez, but I'll take him over Tim Redding. And for $36 million, so will the Mets at this point, who have left him on the DL as long as possible.

Don't underestimate the value of Angel Pagan, either. Pagan is a good outfield defender -- something in short supply on these Mets -- and should add a spark to the slumping lineup if he returns later this week. That also will mercifully end the inconsistent run for Fernando Martinez, who at age 20 has continued to struggle during his second stint in the majors.

Don't look now but Jon Niese could be ready to help soon, too, with the clock ready to strike midnight on Fernando Nieve. Funny, but I just noticed it's the same name with the 's' and 'v' swapped. Weird.

As for the whole Manny fiasco, which kicks off tonight at Citi Field, the guy is a cheat -- bottom line. Why he is being hailed as some kind of conquering hero is beyond me. I assume that the fans at Citi tonight, as well as over these three days, will do their best to remind Manny of that. Not that it really matters. Ramirez seems incapable of remorse.

Kathy Kmonicek, Newsday

David Wright and Carlos Beltran were voted in by the fans.

Beltran is injured and will not be able to play (sorry, fans).

Francisco Rodriguez and Johan Santana were selected to be on the NL pitching staff. The All-Star Game is July 14 in St. Louis.

Good afternoon Mets fans and happy Fourth of July weekend. Unfortunately for the Mets this weekend has been anything but a happy one. The Mets (39-41) take on the first-place Phillies (41-37) at Citizens Bank Park in the final matchup of a three-game set.

Johan Santana (9-6, 3.34 ERA) will take on Phillies righty Joe Blanton (4-4, 5.08).

In a slight change from yesterday, Sheffield was held out of today's lineup. Nick Evans will be starting in left field and Jeremy Reed will get the start in center. Ryan Church will man is usual right field position.

Keys to the game: Offense, offense, offense. The Mets need to score and do it early. They've scored a total of three runs over their last two games. Scoring less than three runs against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park usually won't get it done. The hope is that Santana can provide the spark today. But he hasn't been great lately. Outside of two solid starts against the Cardinals on June 25 and Tampa Bay on June 20, he's been less than average the last month.

We'll see everyone after the top of the 1st.

It was an easy first inning for Blanton. Alex Cora grounded out to second for the first out. Daniel Murphy popped out to short rightfield. David Wright struck out to end the inning. Mets 0, Philles 0 - Middle of 1st.

Jimmy Rollins led off the first for Philly with a solo home run. It was the 30th time he's done that in his career. Shane Victorino popped out to shortstop. Chase Utley walked. Ryan Howard lined into a double play to first base to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 1st.

The Mets are making it too easy for the Phillies. Ryan Church struck out. Nick Evans flew out to deep right. Jeremy Reed grounds out to first to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 2nd.

Santana bounced back with a solid second inning. Jayson Werth struck out swinging. Pedro Feliz flew out to deep right on a nice running play by Church. John Mayberry grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 2nd.

Blanton stayed in control in the third, despite the Mets first hit on the day. Brian Schneider grounded out to the pitcher. Luis Castillo singled down the leftfield line. Santana sacrificed Castillo to second. Cora grounded out to first on a diving stop by Ryan Howard to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 3rd.

Santana is starting to cruise, although Rollins stayed hot. Carlos Ruiz popped out to shortstop. Blanton grounded out to second. Rollins stayed hot with a single to right. Victorino grounded out to second on a nice play by Castillo. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 3rd.

It was another relatively easy frame for Blanton. Murphy struck out looking. Wright walked. Church lined to first for a double play to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 4th.

Santana is in a groove now. Utley flied out to right. Howard grounded out to first. Werth walked. Feliz popped out to second to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 4th.

Blanton needed just eight pitches to get through the fifth. Evans flied out to center. Reed flied out to right. Schneider grounded out to first to end the inning. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 5th.

Santana countered with a 10-pitch inning. Mayberry struck out swinging. Ruiz grounded out to short. Blanton flied out to right. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - End of 5th.

The Mets really blew it here. Castillo walked. Santana reached on a bunt single. Cora sacrificed, advancing Castillo and Santana to third and second. Murphy walked. David Wright bounced into an inning-ending double play. Phillies 1, Mets 0 - Middle of 6th.

Phillies extend their lead. Rollins struck out looking. Victorino failed on a bunt attempt. Utley homered to right for the Phillies second run. Howard flied out to left. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - End of 6th.

The Mets continue to struggle with men on. Church popped out to short. Evans struck out and was thrown out at first. Reed singled to center. Schneider grounded out to first, stranding Reed. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - Middle of 7th.

Santana needs some offense. He's done his job. Werth flied out to right. Feliz grounded out to the catcher. Mayberry popped out to short. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - End of 7th.

The Mets blew another chance to score. Castillo singled off the pitcher. Sheffield his hitting for Santana. Sheffield struck out at a pitch in the dirt. J.C. Romero, on to pitch for Blanton, hit Cora. Chan Ho Park, in to pitch for Romero, got Fernando Tatis, who pinch-hit for Murphy, to bounce into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - Middle of 8th.

Phillies three outs away from sweep. Ruiz struck out swinging against Bobby Parnell, who's pitching for Santana. Matt Stairs grounded out to second. Rollins walked. Victorino grounded into a fielder's choice, forcing Rollins at second to end the inning. Phillies 2, Mets 0 - End of 8th.

Lidge was on fire for a perfect ninth. Wright struck out looking against Brad Lidge. Church struck out swinging. Evans struck out to end the game. Phillies sweep.

It was another bad series for the Mets, who managed just three runs in three game. David Wright continued to struggle, striking out twice and bouncing into a killer double play. The Phillies improve to 42-37 and the Mets drop to 39-42. Santana picked up the loss and is 9-7, Blanton improves to 5-4. The Mets are off tomorrow, but return to action on Tuesday at Citi Field against Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers.

See you on Tuesday.

Fernando Martinez is improving, but Jeremy Reeds gets the call in CF today and Gary Sheffield sits.

Cora .......... SS
Murphy ..... 1B
Wright ....... 3B
Church ...... RF
Evans ........ LF
Reed ......... CF
Schneider .. C
Castillo ...... 2B
Santana ..... SP

The Pitching:

The Many Faces of Fernando: Now we begin to find out who the real Fernando Nieve is. Is he the lights out scrap-heap find that gave up just 10 hits and three earned runs in 18.2 innings against the Yankees, Rays and Cardinals? Or is he the guy who gave up 11 hits and one walk (three runs) in 3.1 innings against the Brewers last week?

Whatever he is, he gave the Mets three wins, which is more than they could have expected from a spring training waiver claim, and has helped to ease the pain of losing John Maine.

He also gives the Mets a pretty good chance to win Game 2 of the series, as the Amazin’s will go up against the ageless (until this season) Jamie Moyer.

Showing His Age: Moyer did a very nice job for the Phillies last season, helping the franchise clinch its first World Series since 1980. For his work the Phillies gave the 46-year-old a two-year deal. In return Moyer has given them a 6-6 record and 6.05 ERA.

His last outing against the Mets was a marked improvement from a May 2nd outing in which he gave up five runs in 5.2 innings and a May 7th meeting that saw Moyer give up seven earned runs before the third inning. On June 11, he allowed three runs over six innings in a no-decision.

Moyer allowed at least one homerun in nine of his first 10 starts and has given up a long ball in 11 of 15 outings overall. He’s given up 19 homeruns already this season, one of the prime culprits for his inflated ERA. Moyer’s had just six quality starts this year.

The Mets miss Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ in this series, so they need to make the most of their opportunities to gain some ground on the defending World Champs.

The Offense:

Sleeping, or Slumping, Giant: Though it features a slumping Jimmy Rollins and isn’t quite as consistent as last year’s squad, the Phillies offense is among the best in baseball. Shane Victorino (.294/.360/.441), Chase Utley (.300/.426/.556) and Raul Ibanez (.312/.371/.656) have impressive numbers across the board, while Ibanez, Utley, Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard have each hit at least 15 homers so far this year. Even Pedro Feliz is chipping in with a .287 average.

If J-Roll can get going (.209/.253/.322) and Ibanez returns from injury soon, this club is deadly.

Four Spot: David Wright has been extraordinary (.338/.425/.488) in average and on-base (the power leaves something to be desired) and Luis Castillo (.274/.372/.327) has had a bounce-back year. Ryan Church is batting .292 and Gary Sheffield, released by the Detroit Tigers in spring training, is hitting .288 with 10 homers.

But most of the rest of the Mets lineup are cardboard cutouts replacing ironclad stalwarts. Fernando Martinez can’t replace Carlos Beltran (.336 average) in the batters box hitting just .178, and while Alex Cora has played admirably (.257/.356/.329), he’s not a leadoff man, he’s not an everyday player and he’s certainly not Jose Reyes.

This club has a lot of offensive holes, but they’ve also got just enough pieces to cover for a little while longer.

Back before first pitch.

- Cody Derespina

-- The Mets made it official this morning when they announced that Tim Redding is out of the rotation and Oliver Perez will start Wednesday against the Dodgers at Citi Field.

-- Fernando Martinez is bothered by pain behind his right knee and said he expects to miss "a couple days" with the injury. F-Mart was scratched from Friday's lineup but grounded out as a pinch hitter in the ninth.

Here's today's lineup:

Castillo ........ 2B
Cora ............ SS
Wright ......... 3B
Sheffield ....... RF
Tatis ............ 1B
Church ......... CF
Evans .......... LF
Santos ......... C
Nieve ............ SP

At .500 through 78 games, the Mets, winners of two straight, find themselves behind the NL-East leading Phillies by just two games in the loss column.

In the first of a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park tonight, the Mets have a chance to pull the division race even closer against Philadelphia starter Rodrigo Lopez, a right-hander who hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2007. On the mound for the Mets is perhaps their most pleasant surprise this season, right-hander Livan Hernandez, who's 5-3 with a 4.04 ERA.

The Phillies (39-39), unable to take advantage of the Mets' recent five-game swoon, escape Atlanta where they were swept in three games.

Evan Drellich here to take you through the first of the latest installment of Mets-Phillies.

Showdown series time.

Cora - ss
Murphy - 1b
Wright - 3b
Sheffield - rf
Church - cf
Tatis - 2b
Evans - lf
Schneider - c
Hernandez - sp

Welcome Met fans! I'm David Cassilo, and I will be taking you through this afternoon's Mets-Pirates game. The game is a make-up after the two teams were rained out on June 3rd.

The Mets are coming off a victory (a rare thing to say these days) as yesterday Mike Pelfrey got the best of the Brewers' Yovani Gallardo in a duel that saw the Mets come out on top 1-0. The one run came from an RBI single by Ryan Church in the sixth inning.

Remarkably enough, despite all that has happened over the past month the Mets find themselves just two games behind Philadelphia for the division lead. However, it may be more than a two-team race this season as Florida trails the Phillies by a 1/2 game, while Atlanta trails by three. The Mets will look to build a little momentum against Pittsburgh today before heading to Philadelphia this week for a crucial three-game series.

To do so, the Mets will need to do something they haven't done all year - beat the Pirates in their ballpark. Pittsburgh defeated the Mets in all three games earlier this season at PNC Park, winning them by a combined score of 22-12. In May, the Mets swept the Pirates at Citi Field, meaning this is the rubber game of the season series.

PITCHING MATCHUP: The Mets will hope that Tim Redding can turn his season around when he pitches today. Thus far, Redding is 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA. He has given up at least four runs in each of his past three starts, including five runs over 5.1 IP against the Yankees in his last outing on Saturday.

With Oliver Perez close to returning, Redding may be auditioning today to save his spot in the rotation.

Redding has experienced some success against the Pirates in his career as he has a 2-2 record and a 3.79 ERA in 11 career starts. However in five starts at PNC Park, Redding's ERA is 6.38.

If Redding is going to get his second win of the year, the Mets offense must get going against 27-year old left hander Paul Maholm. In 16 starts this season, Maholm is 5-4 with a 4.35 ERA. In his last start, Maholm defeated the Kansas City Royals, while allowing just two runs and five hits over seven innings.

Maholm has faced the Mets six times in his career, including once already this season. That start came at Citi Field on May 9th when he gave up seven runs and ten hits in a loss. However, in his career Maholm is a respectable 3-2 with a 3.65 ERA.

I'll be back for first pitch.

The forecast doesn't look good, but it is supposed to stop raining around 2 PM, so we may get started a little late today.

UPDATE: We will indeed have a rain delay. I will be back whenever the game resumes.

We are back after the rain delay, and it is time for Mets baseball.

Top of the first: With the rain coming down, Luis Castillo grounds out to third. Alex Cora gets the Mets first hit with a bloop single over shortstop.

With one strike to David Wright, we have the second rain delay of the afternoon.

After the second rain delay, Wright flies out to right field on the first pitch of resumed baseball. While Gary Sheffield is batting, Cora advances to second on a wild pitch by Maholm. Sheffield then walks on four pitches. Maholm is looking a little shaky after loading the bases by hitting Fernando Tatis in the leg. After falling behind 3-0, Maholm comes back to get Church to ground out to second.

Bottom of the first: Andrew McCutchen leads off by pulling a double down the first base line. Jack Wilson sacrifices to the pitcher, moving McCutchen to third. With the Mets playing the infield in, Delwyn Young grounds out to shortstop, and the runner holds at third. Redding gets Adam LaRoche to fly out to left field to end the inning.

Top of the second: Quick inning for Maholm. Nick Evans grounds out to third base. Omir Santos grounds out to shortstop. Redding flies out to right field.

Bottom of the second: Garrett Jones gets his first hit of the season with a leadoff double off the right field wall. Andy LaRoche works a walk, and the Robinzon Diaz delivers an RBI single up the middle to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. LaRoche goes to third on the single. Ramon Vazquez walks to load the bases. Redding strikes out Maholm for the first out. With the bases loaded, Redding hits McCutchen to make the score 2-0 Pirates. On a 3-1 count, Wilson hits a sacrifice fly to left field that scores Diaz and extends the lead to 3-0. Young flies out to right field to end the inning.

Top of the third: Castillo hits a line drive single up the middle to start the inning. Cora grounds into a fielder's choice. Cora steals second base. Wright grounds out to third, advancing Cora. Sheffield flies out to right field.

Bottom of the third: Ad. LaRoche singles to left field. Church dives for a hit by Jones, but he misses it and it goes to the wall, giving Jones an RBI triple and the Pirates a 4-0 lead. An. LaRoche strikes out. Diaz doubles off the wall in left-center, and the score is 5-0 as Jones scores. Redding is pulled after the double.

Pat Misch comes in to face Vazquez. He gets him to ground out to second base as Diaz moves to third. Maholm grounds out to third as Misch limits the damage.

Final line for Redding: 2.1 IP 6 H 5 ER 2 BB 2 K

Top of the fourth: Tatis singles to right field. Church singles into center field. Evans singles to center field to load the bases for the Mets. Santos strikes out. Daniel Murphy pinch hits for Misch. Murphy comes through with a two-run single down the right field line that brings the score to 5-2. Castillo grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Bottom of the fourth: Dessens is now pitching for the Mets, and he gets McCutchen to fly out to left field to start the inning. Wilson reaches on a walk. Dessens hits Young with a pitch. Ad. LaRoche grounds into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

Top of the fifth: Cora doubles down the right field line to start the inning. Wright singles to right field after Young is unable to catch the ball on a diving attempt. Sheffield hits an RBI single up the middle, and the score is now 5-3. Tatis grounds into a fielder's choice, and the Mets now have first and third with one out. Church singles to right field, scoring Wright and making the score 5-4. After a visit to the mound, Evans singles to right field and Tatis scores to tie the game at 5-5. Maholm is now done.

Jeff Karstens relieves Maholm. He walks Santos to load the bases. Jeremy Reed pinch hits for Dessens, and he hits a sacrifice fly that scores Church and gives the Mets a 6-5 lead. Castillo flies out to right field to end the inning.

Final line on Maholm: 4.1 IP 11 H 6 ER 1 BB 1 K

Bottom of the fifth: Brian Stokes comes in to replace Dessens. Jones lines out to Stokes. An. LaRoche flies out to left field. Diaz grounds out to second as the Pirates go in order.

Top of the sixth: Cora pops up to first. Wright walks. Sheffield pops up to first. Tatis hits a two-run home run to right-center and the Mets now lead 8-5. Church flies out to left field.

Bottom of the sixth: Vazquez singles to left field. Jeff Salazar pinch hits for Karstens and flies out to right field. McCutchen strikes out on three pitches. Wilson pops up to third base.

Top of the seventh: Evan Meek replaces Karstens on the mound. Evans and Santos both ground out to second. Argenis Reyes pinch hits for Stokes and draws a walk. Reyes steals second base. Castillo walks. Cora grounds out to the pitcher to end the inning.

Bottom of the seventh: Pedro Feliciano is in for Stokes. Young strikes out looking, and after drawing a line in the dirt to show where the pitch was he is ejected. Ad. LaRoche grounded out to shortstop. Garret Jones homers to center field and the score is now 8-6. Feliciano is done.

Sean Green replaces Feliciano. An. LaRoche strikes out looking.

Top of the eighth: Steven Jackson comes in to pitch in a double switch that replaces the ejected Young with Brandon Moss. Wright grounds out to shortstop. Sheffield pops up to second base. Tatis doubles on a hit to the left-center gap. Church flies out to right field.

Bottom of the eighth: Fernando Martinez comes in to play center. Church shifts to right, and Sheffield is out. Diaz squares to bunt for a hit, but is hit with a pitch by Green. Vazquez grounds out to first. Green walks Moss. McCutchen grounds to shortstop, and Cora gets Diaz out going to third after Wright bails him out with a good pick-up. Wilson strikes out to end the inning.

Top of the ninth: Evans strikes out swinging. Santos snaps an 0-19 skid and doubles to center field. Brian Schneider pinch hits for Green and grounds into a fielder's choice on a poor base running play by Santos in which he tried to go to third on a ground ball to shortstop. Castillo walks and Jackson is done.

Jesse Chavez replaces Jackson and gets Cora to fly out to center field.

Bottom of the ninth: Francisco Rodriguez is in to pitch. Freddy Sanchez pinch hits for Chavez and hits an infield single to shortstop. Ad. LaRoche hits a two-run home run to center field, and the game is tied at 8-8. Jones, up a single shy of the cycle, grounds out to Castillo. An. LaRoche pops up to second base. Diaz singles on a ground ball between shortstop and third base. Vazquez singles on a ground ball to right field, and Diaz goes to third. Moss hits a hard line drive, but it is right at Castillo. We will head to extra innings.

Top of the tenth: Sanchez stays in to play second base, and Matt Capps comes in to pitch. Wright strikes out swinging. Martinez pops up to shortstop. Tatis is hit with a pitch for the second time today. Tatis steals second base. Church singles up the middle, and Tatis scores to make the score 9-8. Church goes to second on the throw. Evans grounds out to third.

Bottom of the tenth: K-Rod stays in to pitch the tenth, despite throwing 30 pitches in the ninth. McCutchen flies out to center field. Wilson strikes out swinging. Sanchez grounds out to shortstop, and the Mets hold on.

FINAL SCORE: 9-8 Mets

W- Rodriguez (2-2)
L- Capps (1-4)

Star of the game: Fernando Tatis 3-4 4 R 2 RBI 1 2B 1 HR 1 SB

The Mets survived a disaster, and instead got one of their biggest wins of the season. Give all of the credit to Tatis and Church, who picked up Redding after a terrible start. Also, gutty performance by K-Rod to bounce back and close it out.

New York will now head into Philadelphia on a two-game winning streak and will trail by two games in the division at the most.

-David Cassilo

Today's lineup vs. the Pirates in Pittsburgh, 12:35 start, if the rain holds. It's cloudy now and the tarp is on the field.

Castillo 4
Cora 6
Wright 5
Sheff 9
Tatis 7
Church 8
Evans 3
Santos 2
Redding 1

Lefty Paul Maholm, whose claim to fame is striking out Billy Crystal in spring training, starts for the Buccos.

AP Photo

John Franco was still pitching for the Mets in 2002 when Keith Hernandez got himself in hot water with the players by saying they had "no heart" and "quit" on the season. Mike Piazza fired back at Hernandez then by calling him a "voice from the grave" and saying he should "call WFAN" with his comments.

Hernandez later apologized to the team, but apparently Franco didn't learn anything from that incident. Either that, or he has a short memory. Here's a sampling of the back-and-forth he started with the Mets yesterday after accusing them of having no leadership. David Wright, in particular, was not happy. Here's the story:

BY DAVID LENNON

MILWAUKEE – John Franco has traded his captain’s C for a special advisory role with the Mets, but that didn’t stop him from taking a few shots at his employer this week during a radio interview. Franco, who was welcomed back into the Mets’ organization in spring training, criticized his former club’s leadership void and selfish play.

“Watching them almost every day, there’s no leadership there,” Franco said during an interview with SIRIUS XM. Nobody wants to step forward and be a leader. Something is missing and it’s hard to put your finger on it. They got some great, talented players – [Jose] Reyes and [David] Wright and [Carlos] Beltran, now [Johan] Santana’s there – but I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Franco continued to say that he approached Wright in spring training about stepping up in that role and the Mets’ third baseman was reluctant to do it. “I tried talking to him and tell him to come forward and be that guy,” Franco said, “but I think David feels that being that he’s such a young player and you have the [Carlos] Delgados and [Gary] Sheffields and veteran guys like that, he’s afraid that they’ll look at him like, ‘Be quiet and sit down.’”

When told of Franco’s comments following Wednesday’s win over Brewers, Wright was not pleased.

“With all due respect to Johnny, he doesn’t know what’s going on in this clubhouse,” Wright said. “I don’t feel the need to defend myself as a leader if the guys in here respect me and think of me as a leader. I don’t worry myself with outside people, saying what they’re going to say. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Franco also accused the Mets of showing “too much individuality,” a point that Manuel even raised during his team meeting late Tuesday night. “Guys are worried about their own stats instead of worrying about getting the guy over, not stealing third base with two outs which is really meaningless,” Franco said. “These are the kind of things that they’re dealing with.”

Manuel shrugged off Franco’s comments, saying, “At this point, you’re going to get a lot of opinions on things. John Franco is a member of the Mets and highly thought of by the Mets. He’s entitled to his opinion.”

As for Franco’s knock on the team’s lack of leaders, the manager disagreed. “I think when a guy [Alex Cora] plays with a torn ligament in his thumb, that’s leadership. When a guy [Wright] needs a day off and still wants to play, that’s leadership.”

That's what Mike Pelfrey was saying Wednesday when asked about the tightness in his right triceps. Pelfrey kept trying to stretch on the mound, but insisted later that it was nothing to worry about. Yeah, right. With these Mets? Are you kidding?

"To me, that's a good sign," Pelfrey said. "It means I'm getting in front of my sinker."

OK, Mike. If you say so. It's tough to argue with Pelfrey after he shut out the Brewers for 7 2/3 innings in the Mets' 1-0 win at Miller Park. Now the Mets have to hope he experiences the same tightness next week against the Dodgers? Weird.