Saturday, June 23rd (All times eastern)
Oakland Athletics (39-33) at New York Mets (39-32), 7:10 p.m.
Probable Starting Pitchers: Oakland - Joe Blanton (7-4, 3.43) New York - Orlando Hernandez (3-3, 3.08)
(Sports Network) - The month of June hasn't been so kind for the NL East- leading New York Mets, but they did beat the Oakland Athletics in the opener of their three-game set yesterday at Shea Stadium.
Tom Glavine picked up career win No. 296 thanks to his efforts both on the mound and at the plate, leading the Mets to a 9-1 victory.
Glavine (6-5) tossed eight strong innings, allowing just the run on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts for the Mets, who won for just the third time in its last 12 games. He also went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Glavine is now one shy of tying Bobby Mathews for 23rd on the all-time wins list.
The performance was in sharp contrast to his last two outings, when he yielded a combined 16 earned runs.
Shawn Green homered and finished with three RBI and Carlos Beltran also went deep en route to a two-run, two-RBI night.
Lenny DiNardo (2-4) allowed six runs -- two earned -- over 5 1/3 frames for Oakland, which is still 13-7 in the month of June compared to the Mets' mark of 5-18. Shannon Stewart's fourth home run of the year accounted for the A's offense.
Oakland?s Joe Blanton has been a consistent performer on the mound this season, and he is expected to get the ball this evening. Blanton is 7-4 with a 3.43 ERA, and he has only walked 21 batters in 105 innings of work. Blanton is 4-2 on the road this season, but his 5.22 ERA away from home leaves much to be desired.
Blanton is 1-0 in his career against the Mets, and he pitched seven innings and did not surrender an earned run in his only previous start against New York.
It can certainly be argued with good reason that Orlando Hernandez has been the best starting pitcher for the Mets this season. Hernandez is 3-3 with a 3.08 ERA, and he has only yielded 43 hits in 61 1/3 innings of work. On a down note, he is coming off a loss to the Yankees in his last outing.
Hernandez is a perfect 5-0 lifetime against the Athletics with a 2.68 ERA.
Oakland and New York haven't met since the Athletics won two of three games against the Mets from June 14-16 of the 2005 season. The A's are 113-79 all-time in interleague play, while the Mets own an 89-90 mark against the American League.
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