The Game:

The New York Mets (2-2) try and win back-to-back games against the Washington Nationals (1-3) this afternoon at Citi Field.  The game can be seen on SNY or heard on WFAN 660 at 1:05 pm.

Pitching matchup:

Oliver Perez (0-0, 0.00) vs. John Lannan (0-1, 12.27)

The lineup:

1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Alex Cora 2B
3. David Wright 3B
4. Jason Bay 1B
5. Jeff Francoeur RF
6. Gary Matthews Jr. CF
7. Fernando Tatis 1B
8. Henry Blanco C

Boy it looks good to see Jose Reyes on the lineup card.  His addition makes the lineup look much much stronger.  On the other hand John Lannan has dominated the Mets in the past so I don’t know how big of a difference Reyes will make.  For Oliver Perez I have the over under of him showing up as Jeckyll today at 65%.

The Game:

The Mets (1–1) finish up a their opening series with the Marlins (1–1) tonight in Citi Field.  It can be seen on SNY or heard on WFAN 660.

Pitching matchup:

Jon Niese (0-0, 0.00) vs. Nate Robertson (0-0, 0.00)

The lineup:

1. CF Angel Pagan
2. 2B Luis Castillo
3. 3B David Wright
4. LF Jason Bay
5. RF Jeff Francoeur
6. 1B Fernando Tatis
7. C Rod Barajas
8. SS Ruben Tejada
9. SP Jon Niese

Ruben Tejada is making his 1st MLB start and the Mets REAL #2 starter takes the mound tonight so get ready for a good pitching performance.

The New York Mets (37-38) continue their series with the Milwaukee Brewers (41-35) tonight at Miller Park. Johan Santana (9-5, 3.08) takes on Mike Burns (0-1, 3.72) of the Brewers.

Game time is 8:05 PM EST, and will be broadcast locally on SNY or heard on WFAN 660. Follow the game live online via MLB.TV or MLB.com’s Gameday.

Pitching Matchup:

Johan Santana: 15 GS, 9-5, 3.08 ERA, 96.1 IP, 86 H, 33 ER, 30 BB, 100 K
Mike Burns: 2 G (1 GS), 0-1, 3.72 ERA, 9.2 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 7 K

What to Watch For:
Can Johan be the savior the Mets are paying him to be? He better be because tonight is a must win for the “Must Now Watch Mets”.  The need to gain some kind of momentum and your ace losing to Mike Burns (yes the household favorite Mike Burns) is not a momentum gainer.  If that’s not bad enough it would move the Mets to two games below .500.  It looks like Jerry has put together one of the better lineups I’ve seen lately, but its putting a lot of pressure on the two young kids Evans and Martinez so it will be nice to see how they fair tonight.