David Wright went deep twice in Friday’s loss to the Diamondbacks.
The New York Mets returned to the friendly confines of Citi Field this week and began showing signs of a pulse. The Amazins’ had lost 10 of 14 but are fresh off a series win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
However, trouble may be lurking on the horizon with the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks in town for a three-game set. The woeful D-Backs lost their seventh straight game Thursday at Philadelphia and their seventh straight on the road, yet they have given New York fits in the past.
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The Mets came up short in all three games at Chase Field on their recent 2-9 road trip out west and have lost seven of the past eight series clashes, including four of five in Queens. That should be enough of a wakeup call to keep New York from looking ahead to next week’s possible make-or-break trip to Atlanta and Philadelphia.
Arizona appears to have the pitching edge in Game 2 of the series Saturday when they send promising rookie Barry Enright (2-2. 2.73) to the mound to oppose struggling Mets southpaw Hisanori Takahashi (7-5, 4.47).
Enright has allowed three earned runs or fewer and gone at least five innings in each of his first five major league starts and he turned in the best effort during his maiden voyage against the Mets on July 20 at Chase Field. The young right-hander limited New York to one run and five hits over eight innings and fanned eight.
Conversely, Takahashi has allowed six runs in three of his last five starts and is the leading candidate to move to the pen if the Mets acquire a starter at the trade deadline.
Takahashi can’t afford to blow this opportunity against an Arizona team that has averaged 2.6 runs per game and hit .218 during its current seven-game slide.
The Diamondbacks are a dismal 13-36 on the highway and they have failed in 32 of 46 as 'dogs of up to plus 150 MLB odds.
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They have also been lifeless against lefties, losing 35 of 52 overall and 25 of 34 on the road.
New York has won 35 of its last 52 at home and 36 of 52 versus teams with a road winning percentage less than .400.
The Mets have struggled against NL West foes, dropping six of seven. Arizona, despite being 28 games under .500, is 11-10 against NL-East tenants.
New York will also be looking to end a six-game Saturday losing skid.
The ‘under’ is 11-5-2 in the past 18 series scrapes in the Big Apple. The Mets have ducked below the limit in 18 of their last 24 at home and in eight of nine at Citi Field versus right-handers. Arizona has jumped the number at a 20-6-1 clip versus southpaws, setting a 10-2-1 pace on the road.