Florida (83-76) at NY Mets (88-72)

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fla

Nolasco can fly high until the end

Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
When the season opened, Ricky Nolasco was pitching out of the bullpen. On Saturday, the 25-year-old right-hander will take the mound for the final time this season with the distinction of the team's ace.
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Marlins probable pitcher

Ricky Nolasco

  • #47 RHP
  • (15-7) 3.55 ERA 176 SO
Marlins: Nolasco was in line for his 16th win in his last start, but settled for a no-decision after Florida was unable to hold a 4-1 lead in the seventh inning at Cincinnati on Monday. Nolasco allowed three runs on six hits in six-plus innings. The 25-year-old ace of the staff did surpass the 200-innings-pitched mark that day, as he now has 205 1/3 innings. This will be Nolasco's 32nd start, as it winds down his terrific season. Nolasco has struck out 176 and walked 41.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 27-20 4.15 366.2 91 286 .263
Season 15-7 3.55 205.1 41 176 .240
September 2-0 2.93 27.2 3 21 .235
Vs. NY Mets 1-1 3.71 26.2 5 22 .290

Series at a Glance

Standings - 09/27/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Florida Marlins (NL East) 83 76 .522 6.5 45-36 38-40
New York Mets (NL East) 88 72 .550 2.0 47-32 41-40
Stats - 09/27/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
FLA .255 766 206 737 75 1353 4.46 1418.1 1411 581 1110
NYM .267 795 171 747 137 1007 4.09 1446.1 1404 583 1163
nym

Manuel pulls out ace in the hole

Jon Blau / MLB.com
With the Brewers now a game up in the National League Wild Card race, and control of their own destiny taken from them, the Mets will give Johan Santana what he wants: a start on three days' rest on Saturday against the Marlins.
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Mets probable pitcher

Johan Santana

  • #57 LHP
  • (15-7) 2.64 ERA 197 SO
Mets: After days of withholding his Saturday starter, manager Jerry Manuel finally admitted that pitcher "A," the option who would be counted on to throw in the event that the Mets were tied or trailed in the Wild Card, was Johan Santana. The Mets' ace will pitch on three days' rest, a time crunch which is multiplied by the fact that Santana threw a career-high 125 pitches in his last start Tuesday. It was a successful start, though, as Santana limited the Cubs to two runs over eight innings. The only other time Santana has pitched on three days' rest was in Game 1 of the 2004 ALDS, when he allowed one run in five innings against the Yankees.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 108-51 3.13 1534.0 424 1578 .223
Season 15-7 2.64 225.1 60 197 .237
September 3-0 2.29 35.1 10 38 .257
Vs. Florida 2-0 3.21 14.0 4 15 .204

Marlins hitters vs Johan Santana

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Amezaga, Alfredo - - - - - - - -
Baker, John - - - - .000 4 0 0
Bonifacio, Emilio .000 5 0 0 .000 5 0 0
Cantu, Jorge .286 7 0 1 .217 23 0 1
Carroll, Brett - - - - .000 3 0 0
Coghlan, Chris - - - - - - - -
Cousins, Scott - - - - - - - -
Hayes, Brett - - - - - - - -
Helms, Wes - - - - .222 9 0 2
Maybin, Cameron - - - - - - - -
Miller, Jai - - - - - - - -
Paulino, Ronny .000 2 0 0 .250 4 0 0
Ramirez, Hanley .167 6 0 0 .167 12 0 0
Ross, Cody .333 6 1 2 .300 10 1 2
Sanchez, Gaby - - - - - - - -
Uggla, Dan .000 7 0 0 .071 14 1 1

Mets hitters vs Ricky Nolasco

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Beltran, Carlos .250 12 0 0 .348 23 1 2
Bowman, Shawn - - - - - - - -
Carter, Chris - - - - - - - -
Castillo, Luis .571 7 0 1 .571 7 0 1
Evans, Nick .000 3 0 0 .000 3 0 0
Francoeur, Jeff .250 8 0 1 .346 26 1 3
Green, Andy - - - - - - - -
Hernandez, Anderson - - - - - - - -
Martinez, Fernando - - - - .000 1 0 0
Murphy, Daniel .500 6 0 0 .444 9 0 1
Pagan, Angel - 0 0 0 - 0 0 0
Reed, Jeremy - - - - - - - -
Reyes, Jose .385 13 2 2 .423 26 2 2
Santos, Omir - - - - - - - -
Sullivan, Cory - - - - .000 3 0 0
Thole, Josh - - - - - - - -
Wright, David .385 13 2 4 .480 25 3 7

Penultimate show; ultimate stopper (83-77) (89-72)

Mets 2, Marlins 0

Encouraging start

Joe Frisaro / MLB.com
Ricky Nolasco could certainly take away positives from his final start of 2008; though he wouldn't get the win, he made the Mets work hard for the runs that helped lead to theirs. Unfortunately, that pair of runs he allowed was plenty for Johan Santana to work with against the Marlins' lineup.

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Series at a Glance

 

Definition of ace

Anthony DiComo / MLB.com
In the second-to-last regular-season game at Shea, Johan Santana stepped up on three days' rest and breathed life into the Mets' playoff hopes by completely mowing down the Marlins. The ace looked fired up as he shut down each inning, bringing his team closer in a must-win situation.
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Mets 2, Marlins 0

FloridaABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Ramirez, H, SS3000100.301
Baker, C4000023.302
Cantu, 1B4010010.278
Willingham, LF3010101.256
Uggla, 2B4000032.258
Ross, CF4010001.262
Helms, 3B3000011.240
Hermida, RF2000110.248
Nolasco, P1000010.143
  a-Lo Duca, PH1000000.243
  Hendrickson, P0000000.257
Totals29030398 

a-Flied out for Nolasco in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Willingham (21, Santana).
TB: Cantu; Willingham 2; Ross.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Baker 2; Ross.
S: Nolasco.
Team LOB: 6.

FIELDING
DP: (Helms-Cantu).
 
NY MetsABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Reyes, J, SS4110010.297
Beltran, CF4020010.284
Delgado, 1B3001011.271
Wright, 3B3020110.304
Murphy, LF3100014.315
  Chavez, LF0000000.269
Martinez, R, 2B3011013.308
Church, RF3000032.279
Castro, R, C2000100.241
Santana, P3000012.141
Totals2826221012 

BATTING
2B: Martinez, R (3, Nolasco).
TB: Reyes, J; Beltran 2; Wright 2; Martinez, R 2.
RBI: Delgado (115), Martinez, R (3).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Martinez, R; Santana.
SF: Delgado.
GIDP: Delgado.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Reyes, J (56, 2nd base off Nolasco/Baker).
 
FloridaIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Nolasco (L, 15-8)7.052211003.52
Hendrickson 1.01001005.45
 
NY MetsIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Santana (W, 16-7)9.03003902.53

IBB: Castro, R (by Nolasco), Ramirez, H (by Santana).
HBP: Murphy (by Nolasco).
Pitches-strikes: Nolasco 111-76, Hendrickson 14-6, Santana 117-74.
Groundouts-flyouts: Nolasco 5-6, Hendrickson 2-1, Santana 8-10.
Batters faced: Nolasco 28, Hendrickson 4, Santana 33.
Umpires: HP: Sam Holbrook. 1B: Gerry Davis. 2B: Brian Gorman. 3B: Bruce Dreckman.
Weather: 67 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 10 mph, In from LF.
T: 2:17 (:35 delay).
Att: 54,920.
September 27, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner