Monday MLB: New York Mets (21-16) at Los Angeles Dodgers (26-13)
National League Championship preview? That certainly could be the case when the New York Mets visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night.
The Dodgers enter having won four of five games and Juan Pierre is making the loss of Manny Ramirez a little more tolerable. Pierre is hitting 20 for 43 (.465) with seven doubles, nine RBIs, 11 runs and six steals in the 10 games since Ramirez was issued a 50-game suspension. Pierre has a .329 batting average with 12 stolen bases in his last 21 games against the Mets.
Charged with slowing Pierre is Mets starter Tim Redding, who will make his season debut. After a few bad starts in the spring, the Mets shut him down with shoulder fatigue.
In two rehab starts for Triple-A Buffalo, Redding gave up a combined four runs in 13 innings (2.77 ERA).
This will be the first series for the Dodgers against another first-place team. Lefty Randy Wolf gets the call tonight. He has a history of success against the Mets dating to his eight years with Philadelphia. He is 11-5 with a 3.34 ERA lifetime against New York, including going 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA against the Mets last year.
Those 11 wins are more than he has against any other team. Opponents are batting only .198 against Wolf this year.
The Dodgers are -145 money line favorites on WagerWeb.com.
James Loney (27 RBI) and Matt Kemp (25) are on pace to produce 100-RBI seasons for L.A., while Casey Blake (23) is narrowly off that pace. The Dodgers have never had three players in triple figures in RBI.
L.A. is an MLB-best 14-3 at home, and 32-10 since last Aug. 1. Los Angeles lost four of seven meetings with New York last season, but won two of three at Dodger Stadium from May 5-7, 2008.
The Mets enter the week leading the NL in hitting and, at 12-4, leading the league in wins in May.
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