• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Mets, Padres look to cement playoff spots

Aug 21, 2007 - 2:40 PM San Diego (66-57) at Ny Mets (70-53) 7:10 pm EDT

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) - Two teams in the thick of the playoff race will face off on Tuesday when the San Diego Padres open a three-game series against the New York Mets.

The Padres, who are 3-3 in their last six games, need to play better than .500 baseball if they want to stay atop the National League wild card standings. San Diego holds a slim, one-game lead over the Atlanta Braves (66-59) and the Philadelphia Phillies (65-58) in the wild card, while trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks (71-42) by 3 1/2 games in the NL West.

The Mets are 5-1 in their last six and are coming off a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals this weekend. New York is in first-place by five games over the Braves and Phillies in the NL East.

John Maine (13-7, 3.59 ERA) will look for his the first win of his career against the Padres when he takes the mound on Tuesday. Maine faced San Diego earlier this season, but did not factor in the decision as the Mets lost, 5-4, on July 18. The righthander allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings in that outing.

Maine will look to win his second consecutive start after beating the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-8, in his last start on Wednesday. The righthander allowed just three runs on five hits but threw 117 pitches in five innings.

Chris Young (9-4, 1.93) will take his major league-leading ERA to the hill for the Padres on Tuesday. Young is 0-1 in his last three starts despite allowing just four runs over that span. The righthander hasn't won since beating the Phillies, 1-0, on July 19.

For his career, Young is 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA in two starts against the Mets.