The Mets play a last gasp series as they travel to Atlanta to play the first place Braves. The Mets stand 6 1/2 games back, tied for third place with the Marlins. They were not able to take advantage of a 2-5 stretch for the Braves. Johan Santana takes on Tim Hudson in a battle of veterans. Santana is just 2-2 on the road in 11 starts, despite a 2.77 ERA. The Mets are averaging just four runs per game on the road this season, 4.6 R/G at home. Hudson’s allowing a .189 BA with runners in scoring position, and a .258 slugging percentage with men on base. Opposing batters don’t get on often, and they don’t move much when they do.

The Twins stand 6 1/2 games back in the wild card as they open a four game series at Tampa Bay. While it would be much easier to win the AL Central, where they trail by 1/2 game, there’s not reason not to try to catch Tampa Bay as well, even for playoff home field advantage. Carl Pavano faces Jeremy Hellickson. Carl can equal his 2009 win total with a victory tonight. His control is excellent on the road hits season, with just eight walks in 79 innings pitched, helping him to a 2.96 ERA away from Target Field. Hellickson makes his major league debut in a start designed to give the rotation a day of rest. He’s been a helluva pitcher in the minor leagues, with a 12-3 record and 2.45 ERA at Durham this season. That includes a strikeout rate of 9.4 per nine innngs and a walk rate of 2.7 per 9 IP.

Finally, the Dodgers try to climb back into the NL West race as San Diego comes to town for a four game series. The Dodgers really need to take 3 of the 4 games. Game one features Clayton Richard against Hiroki Kuroda. Richard pitched well against the Dodgers in three career starts, despite a low strikeout total. This will be his first start at Dodger Stadium. For the third year in a row, Kuroda’s won-loss record does not reflect his good ERA. The Dodgers have scored two runs or less in seven of his starts, but they’ve also scored six or more runs in nine of his starts. It’s that all or nothing aspect of his support that leads to his record this year. If he received between 3 and 5 runs every game, he’d be a winner.

Enjoy!