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Today's game notes, courtesy of @Mets.
Teams: Mets vs. Diamondbacks
Date: Friday, July 27, 2012 • 9:40 p.m
Location: Chase Field • Phoenix, AZ
Starters: LHP Jonathon Niese (7-4, 3.59) vs. RHP Josh Collmenter (2-2, 3.82)
TV/Radio: SNY • WFAN • WQBU
Info: Game #100 • Road Game #48
Lineup
Ruben Tejada - SS
Jordany Valdespin - RF
David Wright - 3B
Ike Davis - 1B
Daniel Murphy - 2B
Jason Bay - LF
Josh Thole - C
Andres Torres - CF
Jonathon Niese - LHP
METS AT A GLANCE: The Mets snapped their six-game losing streak with last night’s 3-1 win...New York has dropped 12 of its last 14 contests ...The Mets are 5-15 in July after posting winning months in April (13-10), May (15-10) and June (15-13)...New York is 22-25 overall on the road this year...David Wright leads the majors with a .381 road batting average.
100 GAMES: The Mets play their 100th game of the year tonight...New York was 50-50 after 100 games last year (28-24 on the road), 51-49 in 2010 (20-33 on the road) and 49-51 in 2009 (21-31 on the road).
HARVEY HISTORY: Matt Harvey struck out 11 batters and recorded two hits in his major league debut last night...Harvey became the first player in modern history (1900 to date) to strike out 10 or more batters and collect at least two hits in his major league debut...Research courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau.
STRIKEOUTS: Harvey’s 11 strikeouts were the most in franchise history for a pitcher making his major league debut...The previous record of eight strikeouts was held by Tom Seaver, April 13, 1967 vs. Pittsburgh and Bill Denehy, April 16, 1967 at Philadelphia...His 11 strikeouts were tied for the eighth-most since 1900 for a pitcher making his major league debut...The only pitchers to have more are listed below.
| NAME/TEAM | DATE/OPPONENT | K |
|---|---|---|
| J.R. Richards, Houston | 9/5/1971, SF | 15 |
| Karl Spooner, Brooklyn | 9/22/1954, NY Giants | 15 |
| Stephen Strasburg, Wash. | 6/8/2010, Pittsburgh | 14 |
| Cliff Melton, NY Giants | 4/25/1937, Boston (NL) | 13 |
| Steve Woodard, Milwaukee | 7/28/1997, Toronto | 12 |
| Juan Marichal, SF | 7/19/1960, Philadelphia | 12 |
| Elmer Myers, Phil. (AL) | 10/6/1915, Washington | 12 |
THE REST OF THE STORY: Harvey is the fourth pitcher since 1960 to strike out 11 or more batters without allowing a run in his major league debut, joining Milwaukee's Steve Woodard (July 28, 1997), Cleveland's Luis Tiant (July 19, 1964) and San Francisco's Juan Marichal (July 19, 1960)...Information courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau.
AT THE PLATE: Matt Harvey doubled in his first plate appearance last night and later singled in the fourth inning...The last Mets pitcher to collect two hits in his major league debut was David West on September 24, 1988 at St. Louis.
16 STRIKEOUTS: Mets pitchers combined to strikeout out 16 batters last night (Harvey-11, Josh Edgin-1, Tim Byrdak-1 and Bobby Parnell-3)...That total is tied for the third-highest in a nine-inning game in team history...The only two nine-inning games with more than 16 strikeouts are: April 22, 1970 vs. San Diego (19 strikeouts) and October 6, 1991 at Philadelphia (19 strikeouts)...Including last night, the Mets have 14 games in team history with 16 or more strikeouts in a nine-inning game.
SCOTT HAIRSTON: Collected three hits last night, including a two-run double in the first inning...Hairston’s second hit of the night, an infield single in the third inning, was his 500th career hit.
OLYMPIC FEVER: The Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics will take place tonight...Three current members of the Mets have participated in the Olympics...RHP R.A. Dickey was a member of the bronze medal winning US Olympic team in 1996 in Atlanta and RHP Jon Rauch was on the 2000 US gold medal winning baseball team in Sydney...Mets first base coach Tom Goodwin played on the 1988 gold medal winning US baseball team in Seoul...Brittany Viola, the daughter of former Mets pitcher and current Savannah pitching coach Frank Viola, will represent the United States on the women’s 10-meter platform diving team...She is scheduled to compete August 8-9.
PITCHING NOTES: Mets starters rank seventh in the majors with a 3.78 ERA...New York’s bullpen has allowed a run in 11 of the 13 games since the All-Star break (5.74 ERA)...Overall, New York’s bullpen has the worst ERA (5.08) in the majors...The pen has lost 21 games, the second-most in the majors and has 16 blown saves, the third-most in the majors.
JONATHON NIESE: Has won five of his last seven decisions, dating back to May 23, and has posted a 2.88 ERA (24 earned runs/75.0 innings) during that span, which is the ninth-lowest in the National League...His batting average against since May 23 is .229, the 11th-lowest in the NL...Tossed 7.0 innings and allowed three runs in his last start, July 22 vs. the Dodgers in a no-decision...Has 13 quality starts out of his 19 total starts...Niese has not issued a walk in his last 24.0 innings dating back to the fifth inning on June 3, the longest such streak of his career and longest by a Mets pitcher since Mike Pelfrey went 25.0 walkless innings from June 2-24, 2011.
RISP: The Mets were 1-6 with runners in scoring position last night and over their last 11 games, the club is hitting .195 (17-87) with runners in scoring position...New York is hitting .266 with RISP on the season, ranking eighth in the majors...The Mets are hitting .277 with runners in scoring position and two outs, the second-highest average in the majors.
TWO-OUTS: The Mets have scored 200 two-out runs this season, the most in the majors...New York is hitting .268 with two outs, the fourth-highest average in the majors...New York’s pitching staff has allowed 183 runs with two outs, the third-most in the majors.
MIKE BAXTER: Went 2-5 with two singles, a run scored and one RBI last night for Buffalo (AAA) of the International League at Louisville...He played seven innings in centerfield and two in left field...Baxter is hitting .341 (14-41) with three doubles, seven RBI and four runs scored in 11 rehabilitation games.
FRANK FRANCISCO: Threw 0.2 innings and allowed three hits, one run, earned, with one walk and one strikeout Wednesday for Binghamton (AA) at New Britain...He threw 24 pitches, 14 strikes in his first rehabilitation game...Francisco has been on the 15-Day Disabled List since June 23 with a left oblique strain.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Mets first base coach Tom Goodwin turns 44 today.
LAST START: Received a no-decision when the Mets fell to the Dodgers, 8-3, at Citi Field on July 22...Pitched 7.0 innings and allowed three runs, earned, eight hits, and zero walks...Struck out three in the 97-pitch outing.
NORMAL REST: Niese will pitch on regular rest tonight against the Diamondbacks...In seven starts on four days of rest this season, Niese is 2-3 with a 6.58 ERA (29 earned runs/39.2 innings)...Conversely, in 12 starts with extra rest this season (five days or more), he is 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA (18 earned runs/78.0 innings pitched).
WALKS: Has not walked a batter in his last 24.0 innings, a career-long streak that dates to the fifth inning on June 3, three starts ago...Has allowed seven walks in his last nine starts, a span of 62.1 innings pitched, dating to June 3...The seven walks tie him for the least in the majors and NL since that date (min 50.0 IP)...Has walked more than one once in those nine starts...Prior to this stretch, Niese had allowed 18 base-on-balls over a six-start stretch (29.2 innings pitched) from May 1 to May 28...Niese’s 24.0 innings without a walk marks the longest streak by a Mets pitcher since 2011, when Mike Pelfrey went 25.0 innings without a base-on-balls from June 2-24
INNINGS PITCHED: Since June 10, Niese has pitched 56.1 innings, spanning eight starts, good for 12th-most in the NL...Has thrown at least 7.0 innings in seven of his last eight starts.
RECENT SUCCESS: In his previous 11 starts dating to May 23, Niese is 5-2 with a 2.88 ERA (24 earned runs/75.0 innings pitched)...Has a 7.56 K/9 mark and eight quality starts over that stretch...Has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 14 of his 19 starts this season...Finished the month of June with a 1.89 ERA (seven earned runs/33.1 innings pitched).
SUCCESS VS. LEFTIES: Niese has held left-handed hitters to a .231 batting average (18-78) this season, and has allowed one home run and four walks this season...Conversely, Niese has allowed 16 home runs and 28 walks to right-handers...Niese held lefties to a .259 average and .357 slugging percentage during the 2011 season… Allowed only 10 extra-base hits (two home runs and eight doubles) to left-handed batters last season, which was tied for 10th-fewest in the National League.
RISP: Niese is holding the opposition to a .213 (17-80) batting average with runners in scoring position this season, including .162 (6-37) in such situations with two outs...Niese’s mark of .213 with RISP is tied for 18th in the majors and tied for 14th in the NL among active starters, both with Arizona starter Wade Miley.
DAY/NIGHT SPLITS: In 10 starts during the day this season, Niese is 4-1 with a 2.85 ERA (21 earned runs/66.1 innings)...In eight night starts, the lefthander is 3-3 with a 4.56 ERA (26 earned runs/51.1 innings)...Niese has allowed 12 of his 17 home runs this season during night games..For his career, Niese has compiled a 13-9 record with a 3.65 ERA (77 earned runs/190.0 innings pitched) during the day in 32 starts, compared to his 16-18 mark with a 4.56 ERA (151 earned runs/298.1 innings pitched) at night in 51 starts.