• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Mets open final homestand at Shea vs. Cubs

Sep 22, 2008 - 1:48 PM Chi Cubs (90-64) at Ny Mets (86-69) 7:10 pm. EDT

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Mets hope they won't be playing their final games at Shea Stadium this week.

The Mets open their final homestand looking to maintain a slim wild card lead on Monday when they host the National League Central champion Chicago Cubs.

New York blew a seven-game lead with 17 contests to play last season. This season, the bullpen is making it very hard for the Mets to avoid a similar collapse.

New York held a 3 1/2-game in the National League East a month ago, but it has turned into a 1 1/2-game deficit to Philadelphia (88-68) thanks to a bullpen that has blown a franchise-record tying 29 saves.

The bullpen stumbled again Sunday, as the Mets took a 4-2 lead into the seventh inning only to lose, 7-6, to Atlanta.

"We're going to see what we're made of," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "These losses hurt, no doubt about it. But to be at the point we're at and be able to control our own fate to get into the playoffs, everybody would have signed up for that."

The one saving grace the Mets have this season is the wild card race. New York, which holds a 1 1/2-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers (85-71), hopes rookie Jonathan Niese (1-0, 4.09 ERA) can follow up on the best start of his young career.

Niese allowed just six hits in eight innings of a 5-0 victory over Atlanta on September 13 - his second career start. Niese faces a Cubs team that already has clinched its second straight NL Central title.

Ryan Dempster tossed five strong innings as the Cubs beat St. Louis, 5-1, on Sunday. Chicago, which rested most of its starters, needs one win to clinch home-field advantage.

Jason Marquis (10-9, 4.39) gets the ball for the Cubs on Monday. Marquis is 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA over his last four starts.