
CHAT ROOM
It didn’t seem that long ago that a five-game winning streak briefly showed the Mets with signs of life in their increasingly remote chances of playing October baseball.
Let’s face it, ain’t happening. Also not happening is Gary Sheffield. He won’t start tonight, either, but is available as a pinch hitter like last night.
The Mets go into tonight’s game at Arizona losers of nine of their last 12 games. With the offense on life-support, the rotation has responded with a 5.57 ERA in that span.
At one time, June 7 after throwing seven shutout innings against Washington, was 5-1. He takes a 7-6 record and 5.08 to the mound tonight.
Last Thursday, Hernandez gave up seven runs in five innings in losing at San Diego. He has given up seven runs or more in three of his last six outings. Lifetime, Hernandez is 10-6 with a 3.51 ERA against the Diamondbacks, but his history over the past two months is a greater measure of what to expect.
The Mets will send this line-up against Max Scherzer (6-6, 4.01):
Cory Sullivan, LF
Luis Castillo, 2B
Fernando Tatis, 3B
Daniel Murphy, 1B
Jeff Francoeur, RF
Jeremy Reed, CF
Alex Cora, SS
Brian Schneider, C
Livan Hernandez, RP