Brewers Video

Bush's strong start

Cain's RBI double

Mets Video

Dickey's gem

Wright's two-run shot

But if past results are any indicator, Wednesday's doubleheader could provide a spark for the Crew over the season's final days. That doubleheader, on Sept. 14, 2008, in Philadelphia was a turning point of sorts for the franchise.

They were beaten so badly by the Phillies, suffering a devastating four-game sweep, that manager Ned Yost was dismissed the next morning. The Brewers named Dale Sveum interim manager of the club and hoped the shake up would get them back in the playoff race.

It seemed to work, as the Brewers went 7-5 the rest of the way and won the National League Wild Card.

Manager Ken Macha jumbled his starting rotation ahead of Wednesday's twin bill, adding Chris Narveson as the scheduled starter for Thursday's series finale and bumping rookie Mark Rogers to one of the three weekend games in Cincinnati.

"He's going to start another game, it's just going to be in Cincinnati," Macha said of Rogers, who went three innings in his first career start on Friday. "Why have two games [on Wednesday] and you may use everybody in your bullpen, and then pitch somebody [on Thursday] who may go four innings?"

In the first game Wednesday, Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo will square off against Mets left-hander Jon Niese, who is looking for his 10th win. Niese's innings totals, coming off a major hamstring issue last season, have been an issue for the Mets recently. But they haven't held him back in any way.

"I think the important thing is that he has established himself as a Major League pitcher," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel. "If we have anything to hang our hat on this year, it would be the fact that we've established some young players as Major League players that we think can compete at some point for a championship, and we think he's definitely one of those players."

In the nightcap, the Brewers will send right-hander Dave Bush to the mound against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Brewers: Gallardo to make last start of season
Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo, who was originally scheduled to start Tuesday and again in Sunday's season finale, was bumped to Game 1 of the doubleheader on Wednesday. It will be his last start of 2010.

"It would be a little bit different if we were trying to make to make the playoffs and you could talk about going out there on short rest," Gallardo said. "Now, why risk it?"

The lost start probably won't cost Gallardo a shot at any key milestones. He needs only four strikeouts on Wednesday to reach 200 for the second consecutive season. He has at least four strikeouts in 27 of his 30 starts.

Gallardo will fall short of 200 innings. He has 181 2/3 innings entering Wednesday. Count that among his goals for 2011.

"That should be the goal for every starter, every year," he said. "That's a big step."

Mets: Valdes, not Perez to get spot start
Manager Jerry Manuel told reporters before Tuesday's game that left-hander Raul Valdes was most likely to get the nod Saturday for the Mets. Oliver Perez looked to be an option for the spot start, but Manuel is leaning in another direction.

"Valdes is probably the closest guy to being that guy right now," Manuel said.

Perez has not pitched since a two-inning outing on Sept. 6, and he has been used infrequently since his return from the disabled list in late July. Manuel has said previously it "would not be fair to Oliver" to give him a spot start. His reasoning behind such a thought was that Perez's arm was not stretched out enough to start a game.

Valdes has made 35 relief appearances this season, posting a 3-3 record with a 5.51 ERA. He went 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA for Triple-A Buffalo earlier this summer in seven starts.

Worth noting
Corey Hart's sixth-inning home run Tuesday was the first off Mike Pelfrey by a right-handed hitter this season. ... Third baseman Mat Gamel will have surgery on his left big toe Wednesday in Milwaukee. ... Only tickets marked "Wednesday, September 29 - Game 77" will be valid for admission to both the rescheduled game at 4:10 ET and the regularly scheduled game to follow. Fans holding paid tickets for Monday night's rainout -- including those for Bark in the Park -- may exchange them for tickets comparable in price and location for any regular season Mets home game prior to Sept. 27, 2011, subject to availability. Complimentary tickets and tickets marked "NO RAINCHECK" can be exchanged in person at the Citi Field bullpen ticket windows on 126th Street starting 2 1/2 hours prior to game time on Sept. 29 or 30 for that day's game only.