The Mets open up their four game set with the Dodgers tonight as they try to pull their winning ways into a three game streak. The Mets and the Dodgers played 3 earlier this month in LA where the only game the Mets won was against tonight's starter, Brad Penny. The Mets will be sending up Vargas tonight.
Lets go back to that game when Penny pitched. He lasted only 4.2 innings allowing 10 earned runs, walked 3 and struck out 2. Last year, he pitched 3 games against the Mets with a 2-1 record over 19.1 innings where he posted an ERA of 3.26 walking 6 and striking out 14. This season, Penny has a record of 5-5 over 11 games and 66.0 innings pitched. He has had a 5.32 ERA. The Mets have put up these numbers against Penny:
    Reyes 7-28, 2 2B, HR, 4 BB
    Delgado 6-21, 3 2B, HR
    Wright 9-17, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .529 BA, .591 OBP
    Tatis 0-8
The show tonight can easily come from the left side of the infield. Wright has great numbers against Penny lifetime and Reyes has really been on a tear over the last 12 games.
Vargas will be taking the rubber for the Mets tonight. So far this season he has a 1-2 record over 3 games and 18.1 innings and a 3.93 ERA. The last time he faced the Dodgers was in 2006 where he faced them 4 times over 21 innings and had a 1-2 record, 5.14 ERA, 5 walks and 10 K's. Here are some Dodger stats against Vargas:
    Pierre 9-17, 4 2B, 3B
    Penny 3-8, 2B
    Martin 2-7, 2B, HR
    Kent 4-15, 2 2B, 5 K
So tonight the Mets essentially will be facing a line up with the automatic pitcher out due to the success of Penny vs Vargas. Lets see if the Mets can carry the momentum back into Shea tonight!
Lets Go Mets!