Game 51: Mets vs. Marlins Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Ruben Tejada-3B
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Daniel Murphy-2B
5. Wilmer Flores-SS
6. John Mayberry-LF
7. Juan Lagares-CF
8. Anthony Recker-C
9. Bartolo Colon-RHP

The pitching matchup is Bartolo Colon ( 7-3, 4.82 ERA) vs. RHP David Phelps ( 2-2, 3.56 ERA)

Game 49: Mets vs. Marlins Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Ruben Tejada-3B
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Daniel Murphy-3B
5. Michael Cuddyer-LF
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Juan Lagares-CF
8. Kevin Plawecki-C
9. Matt Harvey-RHP

The pitching matchup is Matt Harvey ( 5-2, 2.91 ERA) vs. RHP Dan Haren ( 4-2, 3.09 ERA)

Thor The Guy Who Can Do It All

Mets starting pitching Noah Syndergarrd ( aka Thor) has quickly made a strong impression on the mound with his 98 mph fastball and sharp curve. He has lived up to the hype so far and has shown why he was considered to be one of the top prospects in baseball. Today, Thor pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings against the Phillies. He was mixing it all of his pitches and making the Phillies very unbalanced with his fastball and curve. Ron Darling noted on the broadcast that his changeup is still a work in progress, but will only get better as he gains more experience. In addition to his awesome day on the mound, Thor went 3 for 3 at the plate, including his first career home run. He crushed it to center field and hit it well over 400 feet. It was impressive power for the 22 year old rookie, which he showed pitching for the Las Vegas 51s in Triple A, hitting a homer in his last at-bat before getting called up. I can't wait to see how Thor continues to develop on the mound and at the plate. His future is so bright along with the Mets other young starters Matt Harvey and Jacob Degrom as well as left-hander Steven Matz once he is called up. The Mets will have a special rotation for years to come.

Game 48: Mets vs. Phillies Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Daniel Murphy-2B
5. Michael Cuddyer-LF
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Danny Muno-3B
8. Kevin Plawecki-C
9. Noah Syndergarrd-RHP

The pitching matchup is Noah Syndergarrd ( 1-2, 3.63 ERA) vs. RHP Sean O'Sullivan ( 1-3, 3.54 ERA)

Game 47: Mets vs. Phillies Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Daniel Murphy-2B
5. Michael Cuddyer-LF
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Eric Campbell-3B
8. Kevin Plawecki-C
9. Jacob deGrom-RHP

The pitching matchup is Jacob deGrom ( 5-4, 2.75 ERA) vs. RHP Jerome Williams ( 3-4, 5.44 ERA)

How Has Wilmer Flores Exceeded Expectations?

There were a lot of question marks coming into the season whether Wilmer Flores could make it as the Mets starting shortstop. So far, he has proven the doubters wrong by a team-leading 7 home runs and 19 RBI's. He has becoming more confident at the plate and is showing to hit for more power at the plate, including a grand slam and a go-ahead 3 run homer in yesterday's win. After a rough start defensively, he is also becoming more comfortable in the field and has made less errors in the last few errors. He is making more accurate throws and showing improved footwork. I think Flores will only continue to get better as the season progresses and show off more power. I think now with the news of David Wright's spinal spenosis, the Mets should consider moving Wilmer to third base since that is his natural position and will improve the infield defense and allow him to feel comfortable in the field.

Game 46: Mets vs. Phillies Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Daniel Murphy-2B
5. Michael Cuddyer-LF
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Danny Muno-3B
8. Anthony Recker-C
9. Bartolo Colon-RHP

The pitching matchup is Bartolo Colon ( 6-3, 4.85 ERA) vs. RHP Severino Gonzalez ( 2-1, 7.11 ERA)

Game 44: Mets vs. Pirates Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Daniel Murphy-2B
5. Wilmer Flores-SS
6. Eric Campbell-3B
7. Darrell Ceciliani-LF
8. Kevin Plawecki-C
9. Matt Harvey-RHP

The pitching matchup is Matt Harvey ( 5-1, 1.98 ERA) vs. RHP A.J. Burnett ( 3-1, 1.38 ERA)

Game 43: Mets vs. Pirates Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Eric Campbell-3B
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-2B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Juan Lagares-CF
8. Kevin Plawecki-C
9. Noah Syndergarrd-RHP




The pitching matchup is Noah Syndegarrd ( 1-1, 3.18 ERA) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole ( 5-2, 2.40 ERA)

Game 42: Mets vs. Cardinals Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Juan Lagares-CF
2. Wilmer Flores-SS
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-2B
6. John Mayberry Jr-LF
7. Eric Campbell-3B
8. Kevin Plawecki-C
9. Jacob deGrom-RHP

The pitching matchup is Jacob deGrom ( 4-4, 3.21 ERA) vs. Jaime Garcia who is making his season debut.

Game 41: Mets vs. Cardinals Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Eric Campbell-3B
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-2B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Juan Lagares-CF
8. Kevin Plawecki-C
9. Bartolo Colon-RHP

The pitching matchup is Bartolo Colon ( 6-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Carlos Martinez ( 3-2, 4.73 ERA)

Game 40: Mets vs. Cardinals Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Eric Campbell-3B
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-2B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Anthony Recker-C
8. Jon Niese-LHP
9. Juan Lagares-CF

The pitching matchup is Jon Niese ( 3-3, 2.49 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha ( 5-0, 2.06 ERA)

Game 39: Mets vs. Cardinals Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Eric Campbell-3B
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-2B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Kevin Plawecki-C
8. Matt Harvey-RHP
9. Juan Lagares-CF

The pitching matchup is Matt Harvey ( 5-1, 2.31 ERA) vs. RHP John Lackey ( 2-2, 3.22 ERA)

Game 38: Mets vs. Brewers Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Eric Campbell-3B
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-2B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Johnny Monell-C
8. Noah Syndergarrd-RHP
9. Juan Lagares-CF

The pitching matchup is Noah Syndergarrd ( 0-1, 5.06 ERA) vs. RHP Willie Peralta ( 1-4, 3.80 ERA)

What Does Terry Collins Have Against Wilmer Flores?

It's become apparent that Mets manager Terry Collins is not a fan of shortstop Wilmer Flores and instead favors backup shortstop Ruben Tejada. Collins has taken multiple jabs at Flores and his offense and defense. Last season, after a game-winning grand slam against the Phillies, he tried to downplay it by saying it wasn't against Cliff Lee. TC continued to bench Flores for the majority of the season last year and give Tejada the majority of the starts. He only started Flores in September, where he put up solid offensive numbers. This season, Collins has showed skepticism of Flores and has questioned whether he can hit well enough or make enough defense plays to remain the starting shortstop. In tonight's game, against the Brewers, despite being the team's home run leader with 5, he decided to bat Flores 9th. Fortunately, Flores was able to prove Collins wrong by hitting a grand slam. After the game, Collins once again tried to jab at Flores by saying that he batted him 9th because he's not Giancarlo Stanton and that the bench was surprised that Flores came through. I found these comments to be very disrespectful, unprofessional, and demeaning. A manager should never make these kind of statements about his players. He should be praising them when they perform and try to boost their confidence, rather than disregard their accomplishments or make sarcastic comments. It's just not right and I wish Sandy Alderson and the Mets front office would try to hold Terry Collins accountable for his comments that try to belittle Wilmer Flores.

Game 37: Mets vs. Brewers Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-2B
6. Eric Campbell-3B
7. Kevin Plawecki-C
8. Jacob deGrom-RHP
9. Wilmer Flores-SS

The pitching matchup is Jacob deGrom ( 3-4, 3.46 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Garza ( 2-4, 4.04 ERA)

Game 36: Mets vs. Brewers Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-3B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Johnny Monell-C
8. Ruben Tejada-2B
9. Bartolo Colon-RHP

The pitching matchup is Bartolo Colon ( 6-1, 3.30 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Lohse ( 2-4, 7.03 ERA)

Game 35: Mets vs. Cubs Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-CF
2. Dilson Herrera-2B
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. John Mayberry Jr-RF
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Anthony Recker-C
8. Ruben Tejada-3B
9. Jon Niese-LHP

The pitching matchup is Jon Niese ( 3-2, 1.95 ERA) vs. LHP Travis Wood ( 2-2, 4.26 ERA)

Game 34: Mets vs. Cubs Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Daniel Murphy-3B
3. Michael Cuddyer-LF
4. Lucas Duda-1B
5. Wilmer Flores-SS
6. Kevin Plawecki-C
7. Kirk Nieuwenhuis-CF
8. Dilson Herrera-2B
9. Matt Harvey-RHP

The pitching matchup is Matt Harvey ( 5-1, 2.72 ERA) vs. RHP Jason Hammel ( 3-1, 3.52 ERA)

Game 33: Mets vs. Cubs Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup: Thor's Debut!

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Daniel Murphy-3B
3. Michael Cuddyer-LF
4. Lucas Duda-1B
5. Wilmer Flores-SS
6. Kirk Nieuwenhuis-CF
7. Kevin Plawecki-C
8. Noah Syndergarrd-RHP
9. Ruben Tejada-2B

The pitching matchup is Noah Syndergarrd who is making his first ML start vs. RHP Jake Arrierta ( 3-3, 3.41 ERA)

Game 32: Mets vs. Cubs Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Juan Lagares-CF
2. John Mayberry Jr-RF
3. Daniel Murphy-3B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Lucas Duda-1B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Kevin Plawecki-C
8. Dilson Herrera-2B
9. Jacob deGrom-RHP

The pitching matchup is Jacob deGrom ( 3-3, 2.95 ERA) vs. LHP Jon Lester ( 2-2, 4.04 ERA)

Game 31: Mets vs. Phillies Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-LF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Daniel Murphy-3B
4. Lucas Duda-1B
5. Wilmer Flores-SS
6. Kirk Nieuwenhuis-LF
7. Anthony Recker-C
8. Ruben Tejada-SS
9. Bartolo Colon-RHP

The pitching matchup is Bartolo Colon ( 5-1, 2.90 ERA) vs. RHP Chad Billingsley ( 0-1, 9.00 ERA)

Game 30: Mets vs. Phillies Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-3B
6. Kevin Plawecki-C
7. Dilson Herrera-2B
8. Ruben Tejada-SS
9. Jon Niese-LHP
The pitching matchup is Jon Niese ( 2-2, 2.40 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Harang ( 3-2, 2.38 ERA)

Game 29: Mets vs. Phillies Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. John Mayberry Jr-LF
4. Michael Cuddyer-1B
5. Daniel Murphy-3B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Kevin Plawecki-C
8. Dilson Herrera-2B
9. Matt Harvey-RHP

The pitching matchup is Matt Harvey ( 5-0, 2.41 ERA) vs. LHP Cole Hamels ( 1-3, 4.14 ERA)

Game 28: Mets vs. Orioles Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-3B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Kevin Plawecki-C
8. Dilson Herrera-2B
9. Jacob deGrom-RHP

The pitching matchup is Jacob deGrom ( 2-3, 3.34 ERA) vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez ( 2-1, 1.59 ERA)

Game 27: Mets vs. Orioles Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-3B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Kevin Plawecki-C
8. Dilson Herrera-2B
9. Bartolo Colon-RHP

The pitching matchup is Bartolo Colon ( 4-1, 2.77 ERA) vs. RHP Bud Norris ( 1-2, 12.18 ERA)

Game 26: Mets vs. Nationals Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-3B
6. Kevin Plawecki-C
7. Ruben Tejada-SS
8. Dilson Herrera-2B
9. Dillon Gee-RHP

The pitching matchup is Dillon Gee ( 0-1, 4.26 ERA) vs. RHP Doug Fister ( 1-1, 3.28 ERA)

Game 24: Mets vs. Nationals Starting Lineup and Pitching Matchup

Mets Starting Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson-RF
2. Juan Lagares-CF
3. Lucas Duda-1B
4. Michael Cuddyer-LF
5. Daniel Murphy-3B
6. Wilmer Flores-SS
7. Dilson Herrera-2B
8. Kevin Plawecki-C
9. Matt Harvey-RHP

The pitching matchup is Matt Harvey ( 4-0, 3.04 ERA) vs. RHP Max Scherizer ( 1-2, 3.26 ERA)