The Mets will try to force a rubber game tonight as they take on the red-hot Dodgers and their new pitcher, Kuroda. The Mets will have Figueroa, who has been much better so far this season than anyone has expected. So far he has started in 4 games (pitching in 7), has posted a 2-1 record over 28.2 IP, and posting a 4.08 ERA. There are a few Dodgers that have some AB's against him:
    Jones 4-11, 2B, HR
    Furcal 3-10
    Kent 1-7
Kuroda is pitching his first season in America. So far, he has a 1-2 record, has pitiched 37.2 innings and has posted a 3.82 ERA. The big challenge for the Mets tonight will be getting hits off of them, because as a team, they have really struggled against right handed pitchers. Just take a look at some of these stats. The first BA is vs. RHP, the second BA is vs LHP.
    Church .299, .333
    Reyes .263, .263
    Wright .198, .469
    Beltran .205, .269
I knew Wright was struggling against RHP, but I didn't realize that it was that bad. (On the other side, I didn't realize that his BA against LHP was so good). For Beltran, the difference of his BA between RHP and LHP is the difference between the Mendoza line and his BA last season. This split also shows how balanced Reyes is becoming at the plate.
Anyway, if the Mets can win tonight, it will demonstrate that they have started to figure out RHP, and after yesterday's performance, it would be nice to see some offense.
Force the rubber game! Lets Go Mets!