Mets Game #98, Home #48
St. Louis Cardinals NL Central – 3rd Place – (50-47) Road (25-23) – Last Ten (3-7)
@	Citi Field
New York Mets NL East – 3rd Place – (49-48) Home (22-25) – Last Ten (4-6)

NL Wild Card Standing

Pitching Match-Up

Cardinals Lineup

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Mets Lineup

Team Rankings

Team Leaders

Tidbits of Interest

• Mets at a Glance – The Mets won their second straight game…New York is 3-3 since the All-Star break and the club is nine games over .500 (44-35) since April 21…New York started the year 5-13…New York is 21-17 at Citi Field after starting the year 1-8 at home…Overall, the Mets are 22-25 at home this season…New York won its third straight extra-inning game and improved to 5-4 in extra innings this year.
• Series History  – Four of the eight games between the two teams over the last two years have been decided with a run in a team’s last at-bat, including last night’s 6-5, 10-inning win and a 20-inning, 2-1 Mets victory on April 17 at St. Louis…Since 2006, the Mets are 15-7 vs. the Cardinals at home…The last time the Mets swept the Cardinals in a three-game series was April 1-4, 2007 at St. Louis…The last time in happened in New York was August 22-24, 2006.
• Comebacks – The Mets notched their second straight come-from behind victory last night…New York trailed 4-0 last night before rallying to win and was behind 1-0 in the top of the fifth on Tuesday before winning 4-2…It’s the third time this season the Mets have won consecutive games in comeback fashion…The Mets rallied to beat the Yankees 3-2 in 10 innings on July 3 and came from behind to beat the Dodgers 5-2 on July 4…New York also rallied from behind to beat Arizona on April 22 and 23…New York has 19 comeback victories this year after posting 21 such wins in 2010.
• Walkoffs – Angel Pagan hit his first career walkoff home run last night in the 10th inning off Fernando Salas to give the Mets a 6-5 win…It was Pagan’s second career game-ending hit…He had a walkoff RBI single in a 4-3 win over the Phillies on April 10, 2008…Pagan also had the game-winning RBI for the second straight night after delivering a two-run double in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory…It was the Mets’ third walkoff win this year and the club’s ninth win in its last at-bat.
• Offensive – The Mets are hitting .263, the fifth-highest mark in the majors…The club’s .335 on-base percentage is the fourth-best in the majors…At home, the team is hitting .265, the 10th-highest mark in the majors and has a .341 on-base percentage, the sixth-best mark in the majors.
• Two-Out Runs – The Mets scored three of their six runs with two outs last night…New York has scored 55 of their last 89 runs with two outs…The Mets have scored 184 runs with two outs this year, the most in the National League and the second-most in the majors, behind Boston (188)…New York leads the majors with a .361 on-base percentage and a .270 batting average with two outs.
• Home Runs – The Mets have 11 home runs in their last 12 games..Last night was the 18th time the club has hit two or more home runs in a game this year…New York is 14-4 in such situations…The Mets rank 24th in the majors with 63 home runs.
• Jose Reyes – Leads the major leagues with a .350 batting average, 44 multi-hit games and 15 triples…Reyes leads the National League with a .359 home batting average, a .361 mark vs. righthanded pitchers and second with a .381 batting average during the day…He ranks second in the NL with 30 stolen bases and 66 runs scored and fourth with 187 total bases and seventh with a .393 on-base percentage.
• Carlos Beltran – Hit a two-run home run in fifth-inning last night…Beltran has reached base safely (via a hit, walk or hit by pitch) in his last 26 games dating back to June 16…Beltran’s on-base percentage during that stretch is .443, the best in the NL and second in the majors during that period…It is his longest such streak since reaching in 30 straight games from September 24, 2008 – May 5, 2009…Beltran leads the NL with 30 doubles and is tied for eighth with 61 RBI…The Mets rightfielder leads the NL with 47 extra-base hits, tied for sixth with 52 walks and 10th with a .389 on-base percentage.
• David Wright – Went 2-2 with two singles, two walks and a run scored last night for St. Lucie vs. Clearwater…Wright is batting .476 (10-21) with nine runs scored, three doubles, two RBI and six walks in six major league rehabilitation games…Wright was placed on the 15-Day DL on May 18, retroactive to May 16, with a lower back stress fracture.
• Daniel Murphy – Went 1-5 with a double last night…Since May 21, Murphy is hitting .353 (73-207), the third-highest average in the majors behind Jose Reyes (.394) and Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez (.357)…During that span, Murphy is the second in the majors with 73 hits and is tied for fifth in the National League with 16 doubles…Murphy had a .234 (29-124) batting average over his first 40 games of the year…Leads the NL with a .383 batting average during the day
• Bullpen – Allowed one run over 3.2 innings last night…The Mets pen has posted a 1.74 ERA (eight earned runs/41.1 innings), the second bestmark in the majors this month, behind the White Sox (1.33).
• Jason Isringhausen – Tossed 2.0 scoreless innings hurling a season-high 34 pitches against his former club to extend his scoreless streak to 6.0 innings…It was his longest outing since hurling 2.0 innings on May 27, 2009, with Tampa Bay at Cleveland.
• Jonathon Niese – In two career games, both starts, Niese is 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA (one earned run/7.2 innings) vs. St. Louis…..In his last start, earned the victory in a 11-2 win vs. Philadelphia on July 16 at Citi Field…Pitched 7.0 innings and allowed two runs, one earned…Also allowed six hits and one walk…Recorded six strikeouts and threw 103 pitches, 69 for strikes…Niese has struck out at least six batters in each of his last four starts…Has not permitted a home run in each of his last four appearances, three starts.

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Mets Game #97, Home #47
St. Louis Cardinals NL Central – 3rd Place – (50-46) Road (25-22) – Last Ten (4-6)
@	Citi Field
New York Mets NL East – 3rd Place – (48-48) Home (21-25) – Last Ten (4-6)

NL Wild Card Standing

Pitching Match-Up

Cardinals Lineup

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Mets Lineup

Team Rankings

Team Leaders

Tidbits of Interest

• Mets at a Glance – The Mets snapped their two-game losing streak last night…New York is 2-3 since the All-Star break and the club is eight games over .500 (43-35) since April 21…New York started the year 5-13…New York is 20-17 at Citi Field after starting the year 1-8 at home…Overall, the Mets are 21-25 at home this season.
• Series History  – Three of the six games between the two teams last year were decided with a run in a team’s last at-bat, including a 20-inning, 2-1 Mets victory on April 17 at St.Louis…Since 2006, the Mets are 14-7 vs. the Cardinals at home.
• Offensive – The Mets are hitting .263, the sixth-highest mark in the majors…The club’s .335 on-base percentage is the fourth-best in the majors…At home, the team is hitting .265, the ninth-highest mark in the majors and has a .341 on-base percentage, the sixth best mark in the majors.
• Two-Out Runs – The Mets scored two runs with two outs last night…New York has scored 52 of their last 83 runs with two outs…The Mets have scored 181 runs with two outs this year, the most in the National League and the second-most in the majors, behind Boston (187)…New York leads the majors with a .361 on base percentage and a .270 batting average with two outs.
• Doubles – The Mets equaled their season-high with five doubles last night…New York ranks fifth in the majors with 180 doubles. 
• Jose Reyes – returned from the 15-Day Disabled List and collected two hits last night, his major league leading 44th multi-hit game…Reyes extended his hitting streak to eight games dating back to June 25…He is hitting .543 (19-35) during this stretch with seven multi-hit games…His only non-multi-hit effort was July 2 when he was removed from the game after one at-bat with a strained left hamstring…He also leads the major leagues with a .355 batting average and 15 triples…Reyes leads the National League with a .370 home batting average, a .368 mark vs. righthanded pitchers and a .342 batting average at night…He ranks second in the NL with 30 stolen bases and 66 runs scored and fourth with 187 total bases and fifth with a .398 on-base percentage.
• Carlos Beltran – Collected two doubles in his first two at-bats last night…The Mets rightfielder leads the National League with 30 doubles…It’s his eighth season of 30 or more doubles…Beltran reached base safely (three hits, two walks) a season-high five times last night…He has reached base safely (via a hit, walk or hit by pitch) in his last 25 games dating back to June 16…Beltran’s on-base percentage during that stretch is .444, the best in the NL and second in the majors during that period…It is his longest such streak since reaching in 30 straight games from September 24, 2008 – May 5, 2009…He also has 21 walks during that period, the most in the NL over that span…Beltran leads the NL with 30 doubles and is ninth with 59 RBI…The Mets rightfielder is also tied for first in the NL with 46 extra-base hits, seventh with 51 walks and ninth with a .389 on-base percentage.
• David Wright – Is expected to play tonight for St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League vs. Clearwater at 6:30 p.m….Wright went 2-4 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and one RBI last night for St. Lucie vs. Clearwater…Wright is batting .421 (8-19) with eight runs scored, three doubles, two RBI and four walks in five major league rehabilitation games…Wright was placed on the 15-Day Disabled List on May 18, retroactive to May 16, with a lower back stress fracture.
• Daniel Murphy – Went 1-5 with a two-run double last night…Since May 21, Murphy is hitting .356 (72-202), the second-highest average in the majors behind teammate Jose Reyes (.406)…During that span, Murphy leads the majors with 72 hits and is tied for fourth in the National League with 15 doubles…Murphy had a .234 (29-124) batting average over his first 40 games of the year…Murphy is ninth in the National League with a .310 batting average.
• Josh Thole – Mets catcher Josh Thole and his wife, Kathryn, welcomed their first child, a son, Camden at 8:41 p.m. last night…Camden weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces. 
• Ike Davis – Mets first baseman Ike Davis raised over $70,000 at his charity dinner on Sunday night…The event raised monies for Solving Kids Cancer and The Liddy Shiver Sarcoma Initiative…Davis’ childhood friend Mike Lio passed away from Ewing’s Sarcoma in 2009 at age 22.
• Bullpen – New York’s bullpen tossed 2.0 scoreless innings last night…The Mets pen has posted a 1.67 ERA (seven earned runs/37.2 innings), the second-best mark in the majors this month, behind the White Sox (0.97).
• Jason Isringhausen – Notched his second career save with the Mets in last night’s 4-2 win…His other save with the Mets came on July 6, 1999 vs. Montreal…In that game, he tossed 3.0 shutout innings in a 10-0 win at Shea…The over 12-year span in between saves is the longest such stretch in team history…Prior to last night, Isringhausen’s last major league save came on August 1, 2008, with the Cardinals vs. Philadelphia in a 6-3 victory…According to Elias Sports, Isringhausen recorded the 294th save of his major league career last night after a span of two years and 352 days in between saves…That's the longest span between saves for a player who already had at least 250 saves to his credit…The previous longest was two years, 273 days, by Troy Percival (July 7, 2005-April 5, 2008).
• Bobby Parnell – Earned his fifth hold of the year working a scoreless eighth inning, which included a double play from Albert Pujols…Parnell has allowed three earned runs in his last 21.2 innings (1.25 ERA) spanning 19 games dating back to April 16. 
• R.A. Dickey – In four career games, two starts, Dickey is 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA (nine earned/11.0 innings pitched) vs. St. Louis….In his last start, lost, 7-2, vs  Philadelphia on July 15 at Citi Field…Pitched 7.0 innings and allowed four runs, earned, six hits, and two walks…Also recorded five strikeouts and threw a season high-tying 114 pitches, 71 strikes.

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Mets Game #96, Home #46
St. Louis Cardinals NL Central – 2nd Place – (50-45) Road (25-21) – Last Ten (5-5)
@	Citi Field
New York Mets NL East – 4th Place – (47-48) Home (20-25) – Last Ten (4-6)

NL Wild Card Standing

Pitching Match-Up

Cardinals Lineup

———

Mets Lineup

Team Rankings

Team Leaders

Tidbits of Interest

• Mets at a Glance – The Mets have lost six of their last eight games, including three of four since the All-Star break…New York is 12-10 in its last 22 games…The Mets are seven games over .500 (42-35) since April 21…New York started the year 5-13.
• Series History  – Three of the six games between the two teams last year were decided with a run in a team’s last at-bat, including a 20-inning, 2-1 Mets victory on April 17 at St. Louis…Since 2006, the Mets are 13-7 vs. the Cardinals at home.
• Home – New York is 19-17 at Citi Field after starting the year 1-8 at home…Overall, the Mets are 20-25 at home this season …New York is 2-4 in its last six home series…The Mets are 14-18 overall in the first game of a series, including 4-12 at home.
• .500 – With last night’s loss, the Mets fell below the .500 mark (47-48) for the first time since July 2 (41-42).
• Offensive – The Mets are hitting .263, the fifth-highest mark in the majors…The club’s .335 on-base percentage is the fourth-best in the majors…At home, the team is hitting .265, the ninth-highest mark in the majors and has a .342 on-base percentage, the sixth-best mark in the majors.
• Two-Out Runs – The Mets have scored 50 of their last 81 runs with two outs…The Mets have scored 179 runs with two outs this year, the most in the National League and the second-most in the majors, behind Boston (187)…New York leads the majors with a .358 on base percentage and a .267 batting average with two outs.
• RISP – New York went 0-5 with runners in scoring position last night…The Mets are hitting .286 (10-35) since the All-Star break with RISP…Overall, the Mets are hitting .263 with runners in scoring position, the sixth-best mark in the majors…The club has a .351 on base percentage with RISP, ranking seventh in the majors.
• Walks – The Mets drew five walks last night vs. Florida and have drawn five or more walks in five of their last six games…New York leads the National League and is third in the majors with 345 base-on-balls…Only the Red Sox (368) and Yankees (360) have more.
• Stolen Bases  – The Mets had one stolen base last night…New York ranks second in the National League and fourth in the majors with 91 stolen bases.
• Jose Reyes – Prior to tonight’s game the Mets are expected to activate shortstop Jose Reyes from the 15-Day Disabled List …Reyes went 1-3 with a double and a run scored yesterday while playing six innings at short for Brooklyn (A) of the New York-Penn League yesterday…He was placed on the 15-Day DL retroactive to July 3, with a strained left hamstring…A corresponding roster move will be made prior to tonight’s game….Despite missing over two weeks, Reyes leads the major leagues with a .354 batting average, 43 multi-hit games and 15 triples…Reyes leads the National League with a .369 home batting average and a .370 mark vs. righthanded pitchers…He ranks second in the NL with 30 stolen bases and 65 runs scored and fourth with 185 total bases and a .398 on-base percentage …Reyes is 16-for-his-last-38 (.421) will runners in scoring position …The Mets shortstop has struck out once every 14.6 plate appearances, the best ratio in the National League.
• Carlos Beltran – Has reached base safely (via a hit, walk or hit by pitch) in his last 24 games dating back to June 16…Beltran’s on-base percentage during that stretch is .420, the fourth-best in the NL during that period…It is his longest such streak since reaching in 30 straight games from September 24, 2008-May 5, 2009…He also has 19 walks during that period, the second-most in the NL over that span…Beltran leads the NL with 28 doubles and is ninth with 59 RBI…The Mets rightfielder is also tied for fourth in the NL with 44 extra-base hits, tied for seventh with 49 walks and ninth with a .381 on-base percentage.
• David Wright – Is expected to play tonight for St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League vs. Clearwater at 6:30 p.m….Wright went 3-6 with three runs scored last night for St. Lucie vs. Clearwater…He played nine innings at third base…Wright is batting .400 (6-15) with six runs scored in four major league rehabilitation games…Wright was placed on the 15-Day Disabled List on May 18, retroactive to May 16, with a lower back stress fracture.
• Daniel Murphy – Since May 21, Murphy is hitting .360 (71-197), the second-highest average in the majors behind teammate Jose Reyes (.406)…During that span, Murphy is tied for major league lead with 71 hits with Boston’s Adrian Gonzalez and is tied for eighth in the National League with 14 doubles…Murphy had a .234 (29-124) batting average over his first 40 games of the year…Murphy is seventh in the National League with a .312 batting average.
• Ike Davis – The first 25,000 fans tonight will receive an Ike Davis bobblehead courtesy of Gold’s Horseradish.
• Bullpen – New York’s bullpen has posted a 1.77 ERA (seven earned runs/35.2 innings), the second-best mark in the majors this month, behind the White Sox (0.77).
• Dillon Gee – Is tied for the major league lead among rookies with eight victories…The Mets righthander leads all rookies with a .727 winning percentage and ranks sixth among National League rookies with a 3.76 ERA…..At Citi, in 12 career games, 10 starts, Gee is 4-4 with a 2.74 ERA (20 earned runs/65.2 innings pitched) at Citi Field….In his last start, lost, 6-0, at Los Angeles (NL) on July 7…Pitched 5.2 innings and allowed a career-high six runs, a career-high five earned, five hits and one walk…Also recorded two strikeouts, hit a batter and threw 86 pitches, 52 for strikes.

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St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Mets
	Citi Field

Scouting Report:

CARDINALS: Lohse had a solid first half but struggled in a pair of July starts. He is 0-2 with an 8.25 ERA this month. Most recently, he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings against Arizona on July 8.

METS: Gee was hit hard by the Dodgers in his final first-half start, taking the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out only two batters. He has never faced the Cardinals.

Scouting Report:

CARDINALS: In his last start, on July 7 against the D-backs, McClellan gave the Cardinals a quality start but was handed a hard-luck loss. He allowed three earned runs on six hits in seven innings.

METS: Dickey was not at his sharpest last time out against Philadelphia. He gave up four runs on six hits in seven innings. He struck out five and allowed two walks in a Mets loss. In three July starts, he is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA.

Scouting Report:

CARDINALS: Westbrook gave up a leadoff HR and a single to start the game against Cincinnati on Friday, but he settled in, finishing with two earned on five hits in five innings. Manager Tony La Russa pinch-hit for him in the fifth to spark the Cards' offense.

METS: Niese was excellent in his last start against the Phillies, relying on his changeup to keep batters off-balance. He went seven innings, allowing just one earned run and striking out six with one walk.

Team Leaders

Cardinals Injury Report

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Mets Injury Report

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St. Louis Cardinals (55-44) @ New York Mets (50-49)
	Citi Field

Scouting Report:

CARDINALS: Wainwright has worked 25 consecutive scoreless innings over the course of his last four starts, and that is why he is among the National League leaders in wins. He got a no-decision in his last start, however, as the Phillies won in extra innings.

METS: Not quite as sharp as in recent starts, Niese needed 99 pitches to finish five innings Wednesday in Arizona, allowing three runs. And he may have some bad memories of the Cards. Against them last year, Niese suffered a tear of his right hamstring that required surgery.

Scouting Report:

CARDINALS: Garcia earned his ninth win in his last start against the Phillies, going seven innings and giving up just one run. The key at-bat of the game was when he was able to set down opposing pitcher Joe Blanton on three pitches with the bases loaded.

METS: Santana has been on fire in his last five starts, going 3-0 with an 0.71 ERA while keeping opposing hitters to a .199 batting average. He has gone at least seven innings in every start over that stretch and allowed zero or one run each time out..

Scouting Report:

CARDINALS: Hawksworth was victimized by a wild pitch that reliever Mitchell Boggs threw with the bases full of Hawksworth's runners, scoring two runs for Hawksworth and ultimately giving the Cubs the win. Hawksworth only went 4 1/3 innings, and struggled with his control.

METS: The suddenly anemic Mets offense has wasted an impressive five-start streak for Dickey, who has gone 0-3 despite posting a 1.89 ERA and never allowing more than three runs in any one outing. His strikeout to walk ratio is 22:7 over that stretch.

Team Leaders

Cardinals Injury Report

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Mets Injury Report

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