St. Louis @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 19, 2011 ) St. Louis 2, NY Mets 4
THE STORY: Trade rumors continue to swirl around All-Star right fielder Carlos Beltran, but it is not affecting his play. So New York will ride him as long as he is wearing a Mets uniform. Beltran went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two walks in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals to raise his average to .293. The Mets, who are back at .500, go for two in a row at home Wednesday behind knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. St. Louis is 1-3 since the All-Star break and has fallen out of the National League Central lead.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH R.A. Dickey (4-8, 3.70 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Kyle McClellan (6-6, 4.24).
Dickey has given more than three earned runs twice in his past 11 starts. In four career appearances against St. Louis, he is 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA. McClellan has had 11 days between starts. His last three appearances before the All-Star break were far from encouraging as McClellan gave up 13 earned runs over 18 innings. He has never started against New York, but he has been dominant in eight career relief appearances against the Mets, going 1-0 with a 0.92 ERA.
ABOUT THE METS (48-48): Jason Isringhausen earned his 294th career save Tuesday, his first since leaving the Cardinals following the 2008 season. He got the chance because of the All-Star break trade of Francisco Rodriguez, who had 23 of the Mets’ previous 24 saves. The Mets went 6-6 without All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes, who was 2-for-5 with a run scored in his return Tuesday from a strained hamstring. Reyes leads the majors with a .355 average. The Mets are only 21-25 at home.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (50-46): Right fielder Lance Berkman hit his NL-leading 26th homer Tuesday - 20 have come on the road. Shortstop Ryan Theriot continues to play while he appeals a two-game suspension for making contact with an umpire during an argument in Sunday’s 3-1 loss in Cincinnati. The Cardinals have mustered only nine hits in their last two games. St. Louis started a stretch of 20 consecutive games Tuesday.
FINAL PITCH: St. Louis utility infielder Nick Punto passed a series of infield tests Tuesday and thus was not placed on the disabled list. Punto has been battling arm trouble, but says he is back to full strength. Punto told reporters he believed he had “broke loose some scar tissue.”