All Or Nothing
Oliver Perez tends to have a high pitch count, making him a curious selection to pitch on short rest with the season on the line for the New York Mets.
For Johan Santana, though, that same scenario worked out just fine.
After getting a gem from Santana to pull into a tie for the NL wild-card lead, the Mets hope the often-wild Perez can ensure the finale of a three-game set with the Florida Marlins on Sunday won’t be the last game played at Shea Stadium.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made New York -TBA money line favorites (MLB Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at TBA total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 73% of bets for this game have been placed on New York -TBA (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Pitching on three days’ rest, Santana tossed a three-hitter to lead New York (89-72) to a 2-0 win over Florida (83-77) on Saturday. The Mets moved into a tie with Milwaukee for the wild card when the Brewers lost 7-3 to the Chicago Cubs nearly two hours later.
New York’s NL East title hopes are gone, though, with Philadelphia clinching first place with a 4-3 win over Washington. If the Mets and Brewers are tied after Sunday, they’ll play a one-game tiebreaker Monday in New York.
"We’re still in the race. It’s not over yet," Santana said.
This also has the potential to be the final game ever played at Shea Stadium, with the Mets set to move to Citi Field next year. Perez’s performance will play a large role in whether New York gets to play another game at Shea.
Like Santana, Perez will start on three days’ rest. Santana averaged 105.8 pitches per game, putting him among the majors’ leaders in that category and that was a cause for concern when the Mets decided to pitch him on short rest.
Perez’s pitch counts can also get high due to his wildness. He’s averaging 99.4 pitches per game, and has walked 102 in 188 2-3 innings.
The left-hander has not pitched a complete game in his last two seasons, making it likely New York will have to turn to its beleaguered bullpen at some point. But Oliver Perez (10-7, 4.25 ERA) tossed a gem the last time he pitched on three days’ rest, throwing six sharp innings in Game 7 of the 2006 NL championship series against St. Louis.
Perez is 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in five starts versus the Marlins this season, striking out 32 in 31 innings. He is 6-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 15 career starts against them.
In his last outing, Perez gave up five runs and six hits while walking five in 4 1-3 innings as New York lost 9-6 in 10 innings to the Cubs on Wednesday night.
Florida will counter with Scott Olsen (8-11, 4.23), who is 0-3 with a 6.95 ERA in four starts versus the Mets this season and 1-5 with a 4.89 ERA in 12 career starts against them. Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran is batting .444 (12-for-27) with three home runs and three doubles against Olsen, and shortstop Jose Reyes is batting .438 (14-for-32) against him.
Florida has missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season, but would love to play the role of spoiler for the second straight season. The Marlins won two of three games against the Mets in the final series last year to knock New York out of the postseason.
"You’d definitely would rather be the ones playing to go to the playoffs," Olsen told the team’s official Web site. "It didn’t work out for us this year. … You’ve got to come out and play the game hard, no matter what the situation is."
Olsen had won two straight starts before his last outing, giving up four runs – three earned – and eight hits in five innings as Florida was defeated 9-4 by Washington on Tuesday night.
He is 4 1-3 innings shy of reaching 200 in a season for the first time in his career.
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