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Mets vie for another victory in Milwaukee

Jun 8, 2011 - 2:53 PM (Sports Network) - New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes seems to be back to his old dominant ways and looks to keep his current hitting streak alive tonight, when his team plays the second portion of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The oft-injured Reyes, who recently returned from the Dominican Republic following the death of his grandmother, is riding an 11-game hitting tear in which the speedy shortstop is batting .458 with 13 runs scored, eight RBI and five triples. Reyes had his streak of at least one run scored in nine consecutive games come to an end in Tuesday's 2-1 win at Miller Park, but he ended with two hits, including a two-run triple in the top of the seventh inning.

Reyes' three-base hit brought home Josh Thole and Jason Pridie, giving the Mets the lead for good and their third straight win.

Ruben Tejada had two hits for the Mets, who won for the sixth time in their last nine tries and opened a 10-game road trip on a positive note. The Mets will also visit Pittsburgh and Atlanta on the swing and welcomed back outfielder Carlos Beltran last night. Beltran left Sunday's win over the Braves with a leg bruise and went 0-for-4 in the victory at Milwaukee.

Mets starter and former Brewer Chris Capuano worked six innings and allowed six hits and one run for the win, while Francisco Rodriguez closed the Brewers out with two strikeouts in the ninth inning for his 17th save.

"He's gone through a lot and has come back, and I guess he's got it all back together after the injuries," Capuano's former teammate and Brewers star first baseman Prince Fielder said. "It's awesome to see."

New York would like to see Mike Pelfrey get back into the win column when he makes his 13th start of the season this evening. Pelfrey is 0-1 with a 5.26 earned run average in his last four starts and was banged around for seven runs and 10 hits through five innings in New York's 9-8 win over the Pirates on Thursday.

Pelfrey is 3-4 overall and raised his ERA to 5.56 in 12 trips to the hill in 2011. The righty is only 1-4 in six road outings this season and 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA in three career starts against the Brewers.

Milwaukee was coming off a four-game sweep of the Florida Marlins and had won 18 of its last 23 games before dropping a one-run decision to New York. Fielder's home run to lead off the sixth inning highlighted the offense, while reliever Marco Estrada suffered the loss for allowing Reyes' big triple in the seventh frame.

"I started off with a change, you've got to get your first pitch across," said Estrada of the at-bat. "I left the ball up and he did what he's supposed to do with that. "Maybe if I had a ground ball, I might have gotten a double play."

The Brewers fell 2 1/2 games off St. Louis' lead in the National League Central Division after the Cardinals defeated Houston last night. Milwaukee will host the Cardinals for three games after this series.

Brewers starter Shaun Marcum held the Mets in check with six shutout innings, but walked four batters in the no-decision.

The Brewers are still a dominant 21-8 as the host this season and will assign pitching duties to veteran Randy Wolf Wednesday night. Wolf is 1-0 over his last three starts since going 0-2 over his previous four trips to the mound, and is coming off a no-decision at Florida on Friday.

Wolf allowed four runs in five innings against the Marlins and is 4-4 in 12 starts to go along with a 3.69 earned run average this season. The left-hander owns a 2-1 mark in five Miller Park starts in 2011 and has enjoyed success in past matchups with the Mets, most of which came from his days in Philadelphia. He has gone 12-5 with a 3.27 ERA in 32 career starts against New York and has more wins and starts against the Mets than any other team in his career.

Milwaukee and New York met for the first time this season on Tuesday. The Brewers won five of seven matchups with the Mets a year ago.