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Mets-Dodgers Preview

May 20, 2009 - 6:49 AM By DAN PIERINGER STATS Writer

New York (21-18) at Los Angeles (28-13), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Often overlooked as a key acquisition for the Los Angeles Dodgers at last year's trade deadline, Casey Blake is delivering now that he's no longer toiling in Manny Ramirez's shadow.

Blake looks to continue his hot hitting and help the Dodgers continue their strong play without their best slugger Wednesday night when they try to finish a three-game home sweep of the slumping New York Mets.

Los Angeles (28-13) got Blake from Cleveland on July 26, but the move went largely unnoticed after the club traded for Ramirez a few days later. With Ramirez serving a 50-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance, however, Blake has taken advantage of his chance in the spotlight.

Blake was batting .225 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in 28 games before Ramirez was banned May 7. Since that date, he's 16 for 38 (.421) with four homers and 11 RBIs in 10 games.

After missing consecutive contests with tightness in his left hamstring, Blake hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning of a 5-3 victory over the Mets on Tuesday night. It was the sixth win in seven games for the Dodgers, who dropped four of their first five without Ramirez - out until at least July.

"It felt good to be back in there tonight and pick the team up," said Blake, who has a team-high nine homers. "...I like this team. We've got a lot of great young players here, and they're a lot of fun to play with and be around."

While Los Angeles has found someone to step up in Ramirez's absence, New York (21-18) has struggled to score with some of its key hitters sidelined. Its totaled five runs during a three-game skid, and is in danger of getting swept in a three-game series against Los Angeles for the first time since June 11-13, 2007.

The Mets got some good news when Jose Reyes returned to the lineup Tuesday. The speedy leadoff hitter went 1 for 4 after missing five straight starts with stiffness in his right calf.

"I don't feel like I'm 100 percent, but we're missing a couple of guys and I feel good enough to play," Reyes said before Tuesday's game. "It's not like I'm going to run the way I used to run. I'm going to be smart about it."

The latest on Carlos Delgado, out since May 10, wasn't nearly as good. The slugging first baseman will need about 10 weeks to recover from hip surgery performed Tuesday.

Left-hander Eric Stults was scheduled to start for the Dodgers on Wednesday, but he was scratched Tuesday night because of a sprained thumb on his pitching hand.

Jeff Weaver (2-1, 3.38 ERA) will take Stults' place for his third start since returning to the majors after spending all of 2008 in the minors. The right-hander, who was used twice in relief during a weekend series at Florida, is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in two starts.

Weaver is 2-1 with a 6.10 ERA in five career games against New York, which he hasn't faced since 2006.

The Mets will hand the ball to their own veteran right-hander in Livan Hernandez (3-1, 5.59). Hernandez was reached for five runs in five innings Friday, but New York provided some late offense en route to an 8-6 victory at San Francisco.

Hernandez is 9-13 with a 4.42 ERA lifetime against the Dodgers, including 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA in eight starts versus them since the start of the 2005 season.

Los Angeles' Rafael Furcal, batting .207 with 11 strikeouts over his last 12 games, is 22 for 66 with four homers, a triple and three doubles lifetime against Hernandez.