Game Thread: New York Mets at Washington Nationals - 2008 Game 152 of 162. Martis vs Knight???

Remember, Remember, The 26th of September...

On The Hill...

Having lost two-straight to the NL East's 5th Place Washington Nationals, and fallen out of 1st Place in the NL EAST, a .5 game behind Philadelphia as of this morning, the New York Mets turn to Johan Santana, Oliver Perez, John Mai... Orland,- Does Heilman finally get to start? No, it's...Brandon Knight...Brandon Knight...???

Making his second start in the Majors, the 32-year-old Knight (0-0, 6.43 ERA) has two relief appearances under in his belt for NY this season as well, including one against the Nationals last Tuesday, in which he surrendered a run, and the lead, after entering the game in the fifth with the score tied at 7-7 and walking the first batter, who eventually crossed. Two days before the appearance against Washington, Knight pitched a scoreless inning of relief against Philadelphia, and before that, his first MLB start came on July 26th, when he made an emergency start in place of Pedro Martinez. Before that...

...Knight hadn't pitched in the Majors since September 13th, 2002, when the then-Yankee pitcher gave up 5 hits and 5 runs in 0.2 IP for New York in a 13-2 loss to the White Sox...Now don't get me wrong...This might be just the kind of starter the Mets need, a well-traveled veteran getting a shot in what is probably, all things considered, the most important game of his career, and for certain, the most important game of the Mets' season to date...If you track Knight's career at thebaseballcube.com's profile...you see that after leaving NY following the '02 season, Knight pops up with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan in 2005, the Eastern League's Altoona Curve in 2006, and the Independent Atlantic League's Somerset, (NJ) Patriots, before joining the Mets, and also pitching the '08 US Olympic baseball team.

(ed. note - "For a more detailed background on Knight's long road to tonight's start, here's an interesting article by Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Kevin Baxter entitled, 'Brandon Knight's day In the sun: Pitch For Mets or Olympic Baseball?'")

...Washington throws 21-year old right-hander Shairon Martis, (0-2, 2.70 ERA) who makes the third start of his own Major League career, having already pitched against two NL East rivals in losses to the Braves and Marlins in which the rookie pitcher allowed 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned and 8 walks in 10.0 innings pitched, striking out 11, with 9 K's coming last time out against Florida. 

Nationals' #'s This Series...

Cristian Guzman - 4 for 8, 1 2B, 1 RBI.

Lastings Milledge - 5 for 8, 1 2B. 

Elijah Dukes - 1 for 5, HR, 2 BB, 3 RBI's. 

Willie Harris - 2 for 6. 

Mets' #'s This Series...

Jose Reyes - 1 for 7, 2 RBI's. 

Ryan Church - 1 for 7. 

Carlos Beltran - 0 for 7.

Carlos Delgado - 0 for 8. 

David Wright - 1 for 8. 

QUOTE MACHINE...

WWJD? 

According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, DC catcher Jesus Flores will not call it a season, yet...Mr. Ladson's article entitled, "Flores refuses to hang up spikes", reports the Nationals' 23-year-old backstop, "...wants to rest the ankle and see if he can play again before the season ends on Sept. 28 in Philadelphia." 

Hinckley Strikes Out Church, Finds Himself Humbled...

In Washington Post writer Chico Harlan's article entitled, "Hinckley And Perez Keep Mets At Bay", Mr. Harlan quotes the Nationals' left-handed late game option after his high-pressure success in the eighth inning of last night's DC victory over the Mets, and Hinckley appears to be sincerely humbled by his experience so far in the Majors:

"'My mind is still blown away,' he said. 'Everything is so unknown. I don't want to be taken away from any moment. I can walk out here like a little kid, and look around be like, 'Wow, this is the big leagues.' But at the same time, when I cross that line, I am a competitor. A lot of people think I'm just a nice guy, and they say nice guys are sometimes not aggressive enough. But I don't see myself as a nice guy once I hit the mound. I am going to go out there and put up a zero.'"

Since his debut in Philly on September 2nd, Hinckley's pitched 9.0 scoreless innings combined in 10 appearances in which he's allowed 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7...

For The Mets' Fans' Perspective, Check Out The SBN's Mets' Blog:

Amazin' Avenue

Don't Forget To...

Check the NatCast if you're heading to Nationals Park...

The next to last game of the season between the Nationals and Mets takes place at 7:10 pm EST again tonight, with Shairon Martis on the mound opposing Brandon Knight as the Mets try to avoid losing their third straight game to DC. If the Mets can win tonight, they'd seem to have an advantage tomorrow night when Tim Redding and Johan Santana face off. But tonight it's Martis vs Knight. Who's gonna be the hero for DC tonight? Who's Watching The Nationals?