Currently: The New York Mets hope their last few days in Shea Stadium won’t result in another demoralizing late-season homestand that keeps them out of the postseason.
The Mets turn to ace Johan Santana to help them avoid a fourth straight loss and maintain their NL wild-card lead as they face the playoff-bound Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night in a preview of a potential NL divisional series matchup .
After going 1-6 at home during the final week of 2007 that completed a monumental collapse where they squandered a seven-game cushion with 17 to play and missed the playoffs, New York (88-74) opened the final homestand at Shea with a 9-5 loss to the Cubs on Monday night.
While Chicago (95-60) won its third in a row to clinch home-field advantage in the NL playoffs, the Mets lost for the sixth time in nine games to fall 2 1/2 games back of East-leading Philadelphia while seeing their wild-card lead cut to a one game over Milwaukee.
“When you sign on with the Mets, you sign on with being a part of what happened last year,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “We have to exorcise those demons at some point, there’s no question.”
After the four-game set with the Cubs—3-0 versus the Mets in 2008—New York faces Florida for three to close the final regular season at Shea before moving across the way to new Citi Field.
“It has nothing to do with being tight. It has nothing to do with last year. It has to do with we’re struggling,” third baseman David Wright said. “We need to just look at the big picture. There’s no need to panic. Everything we want to accomplish is right out there for our grabbing and right out there in front of us.”
On Monday, rookie starter Jonathon Niese couldn’t hold a two-run lead as Chicago pitcher Jason Marquis hit a grand slam to highlight a six-run fourth inning.
Though Wright is 8-for-16 with six RBIs in his last four games and hit his second two-run homer in as many games, New York pitchers continue to struggle, allowing 20 runs in the last three games.
The Mets hope Santana (14-7, 2.65 ERA) doesn’t follow the trend as he tries for his eighth consecutive win. He allowed one run and eight hits while striking out eight in seven innings of a 7-2 win over Washington on Thursday to improve to 7-0 with a 2.26 ERA in his last 15 starts.
“He’s been excellent. Outstanding. And that’s kind of what we expect from him,” Manuel said.
While with Minnesota, the left-hander allowed one earned run in eight innings of a 7-2 win over Chicago on June 23, 2006, in his only previous appearance versus the Cubs.
Looking ahead to the postseason, Chicago’s Sean Marshall (3-4, 3.62) takes the mound in place of Rich Harden, who will pitch Thursday after Carlos Zambrano throws Wednesday.
“We’re starting to get ourselves rearranged for postseason,” Chicago manager Lou Piniella said
Marshall, 1-4 with a 4.24 ERA in six starts, allowed one run and three hits in six innings, but failed to earn the decision in a 4-3 loss at Cincinnati on Sept. 7.
The left-hander gave up five earned runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 13-7 loss to the Mets on July 16, 2006, in his only previous start versus them.
Mark DeRosa and Ryan Theriot each had three hits, while Reed Johnson had two RBIs on Monday for the Cubs, who are one win from matching the most by a Chicago club since the 1984 squad went 96-65 and won the NL East title.
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