Chicago @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( May 26, 2011 ) NY Mets 3, Chi. Cubs 9
THE STORY: The Chicago Cubs play poorly on the road. The New York Mets play poorly at home. Something has to give as the teams meet in a three-game series at Citi Field that starts Friday night. The Cubs are 27-41 on the road while the Mets are 30-38 at home. The teams have only met three times this season. Chicago took two of three at Wrigley Field on May 24-26 and outscored New York by a 24-11 margin. The Cubs were off on Thursday while the Mets dropped a doubleheader to the Atlanta Braves - at home, no less.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN+ (Chicago), WPIX (New York).
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Casey Coleman (2-7, 6.61 ERA) vs. Mets RH Mike Pelfrey (7-11, 4.68 ERA)
Coleman started against the Mets at Wrigley Field on May 25. The outing was his worst of the season. Coleman allowed six runs and seven hits in 1 1/3 innings. He was pulled after giving up five hits in the second when the only batter he retired was on a failed sacrifice attempt. Coleman hasn't won since May 19, when he defeated the Florida Marlins.
Pelfrey will try to finish up strong in what's been another sub-par season. His next loss will tie his career-high of 12, which came during the 2009 season. Pelfrey has already allowed a career-high 19 home runs and has won only once in his last eight starts. The righthander has had success against the Cubs, winning both career decisions and allowing one earned run in 15 innings. This will be his first appearance against the Cubs this season.
ABOUT THE CUBS (62-81): Splitting six games on a homestand is no reason to celebrate, but that should be considered a success by the Cubs' standards this season. Any sign of momentum - no matter how small - is something positive for Chicago, which is starting a seven-game road trip. Carlos Pena's three-run homer in the eighth inning gave the Cubs a 6-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. The home run, which came off Bill Bray, was Pena's 26th of the season but only his seventh off a left-handed pitcher. Pena is batting .143 (15-for-105) against lefties this season.
ABOUT THE METS (70-73): Reliever Jason Isringhausen is out indefinitely with a herniated disk in his back, which has led to numbness in his right foot. The 39-year-old righthander has made 53 appearances and is 3-3 with seven saves in 11 chances and a 4.05 ERA. It's unclear if Isringhausen will pitch again this season. Righthander Bobby Parnell will get most of the save chances in the final weeks. Parnell has blown two of his last three save chances and is 5-for-9 on the season, but now is a good opportunity for the Mets to find out what the 27-year-old pitcher can do.
FINAL PITCH: The most important outing for a Mets pitcher won't take place at Citi Field. Johan Santana, who hasn't pitched for the Mets since last season, will start Friday for Class A Savannah in Game 2 of its playoff series. He had surgery on his left shoulder last September.