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Astros-Mets Preview

Oct 3, 2009 - 4:08 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Houston (74-85) at New York (67-92), 1:10 p.m. EDT

The New York Mets' injury-riddled season is two games from ending, but Pat Misch doesn't seem eager to begin the offseason.

The left-hander will try to build on his first career shutout as he faces the Houston Astros at Citi Field on Saturday.

Misch (2-4, 4.71 ERA) may not have gotten a chance to start in the major leagues this season if not for the Mets' depleted staff, which has at times lacked Johan Santana, John Maine and Oliver Perez.

New York (68-92) acquired Misch off waivers from San Francisco in June, and he's trying to make the most of his stint in Queens. He earned his first major league win Sept. 3 at Colorado, then scattered eight hits in a complete-game 4-0 victory over Florida on Sunday.

"This was obviously rewarding," Misch said.

It was only the second time Misch's team has won in his 17 career starts, and it was especially surprising considering he had allowed eight runs in 1 1-3 innings against Atlanta in his previous outing.

"Things are so strange this year," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said.

Houston will also give the ball to a pitcher trying to prove himself one more time before the season ends. Yorman Bazardo (1-2, 8.23) certainly showed promise Monday, earning his first win with the Astros and allowing just two runs and two hits in 5 2-3 innings of an 8-2 victory in Philadelphia.

The right-hander had an 11.74 ERA in his first four starts before mostly shutting down one of the league's more star-studded lineups.

"I've got to prove to the GM and manager that I deserve to be here," Bazardo said. "I made good pitches in tough situations against a tough lineup."

After manager Cecil Cooper was fired and replaced with Dave Clark last month, the Astros (74-86) are trying to figure out how to best pick up the pieces. They've dropped 14 of their last 18 games even though shortstop Miguel Tejada has a 19-game hitting streak.

Tejada is 31 for 74 with four home runs and 13 RBIs during the streak and is hitting .314. He went 1 for 4 in the Astros' 7-1 loss in Friday's series opener.

New York's Jeff Francoeur had three hits, including his 15th homer. The outfielder has five multi-hit games and three homers in his last eight contests.

"He's playing extremely well," Manuel said. "He comes with a lot of energy every day."

One player the Mets would like to see more from with the season winding down is third baseman David Wright. The All-Star had three hits Friday and is batting .308, but he remains stuck on 10 home runs - a steep drop after he notched at least 30 in each of the last two seasons.

"It's a little bit of everything. It's one of those years where it's been a down year for everybody involved and we're just trying to turn the page," Mets hitting coach Howard Johnson said. "David went through a lot this year. When everybody was getting hurt, he was the last guy standing."