Matthews Jr. expected to start opener
April, 2, 2010
4/02/10
10:25
PM ET
By
Adam Rubin | ESPNNewYork.com
It appears Jerry Manuel displayed his Opening Day lineup on Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field -- notwithstanding the DH he used in the 4-2 exhibition loss, of course, an insider tells ESPNNewYork.
The probable lineup when the Mets face the Florida Marlins and righthander Josh Johnson on Monday at 1:10 p.m. ET:
Alex Cora, ss
Luis Castillo, 2b
David Wright, 3b
Mike Jacobs, 1b
Jason Bay, lf
Gary Matthews Jr., cf
Jeff Francoeur, rf
Rod Barajas, c
Johan Santana, lhp
Regardless, Angel Pagan and Matthews are expected to have a reasonably equitable distribution of playing time in Carlos Beltran's absence, and Pagan will bat leadoff when he starts. Also, Ruben Tejada may get the bulk of the starts at shortstop until Jose Reyes returns, even if Cora starts on Opening Day.
The probable lineup when the Mets face the Florida Marlins and righthander Josh Johnson on Monday at 1:10 p.m. ET:
Alex Cora, ss
Luis Castillo, 2b
David Wright, 3b
Mike Jacobs, 1b
Jason Bay, lf
Gary Matthews Jr., cf
Jeff Francoeur, rf
Rod Barajas, c
Johan Santana, lhp
Regardless, Angel Pagan and Matthews are expected to have a reasonably equitable distribution of playing time in Carlos Beltran's absence, and Pagan will bat leadoff when he starts. Also, Ruben Tejada may get the bulk of the starts at shortstop until Jose Reyes returns, even if Cora starts on Opening Day.
Adam Rubin
ESPNNewYork.comAdam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Adam Rubin
Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
Andrew Marchand
Andrew Marchand is a senior writer for ESPNNewYork.com. He also regularly contributes to SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPNews, 1050 ESPN New York and ESPN Radio. He joined ESPN in 2007 after nine years as a sports writer at the New York Post.
Mark Simon
Mark Simon is ESPN Stats & Information's Baseball Research Specialist. He's also one of several Mets historians working at ESPN and a co-host of the Baseball Today podcast. He joined ESPN in 2002 after 6 1/2 years as a sports writer at the Trenton Times.
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UPCOMING GAMES
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | 17-30 | 12-16 | 5-14 | L1 | |
| NYM | 25-21 | 13-9 | 12-12 | W1 |
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | 17-30 | 12-16 | 5-14 | L1 | |
| NYM | 25-21 | 13-9 | 12-12 | W1 |
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | 17-30 | 12-16 | 5-14 | L1 | |
| NYM | 25-21 | 13-9 | 12-12 | W1 |
TEAM LEADERS
| BA LEADER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
David Wright
|
|||||||||||
| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| HR | D. Wright | 5 | ||||||||||
| RBI | D. Wright | 28 | ||||||||||
| R | D. Wright | 30 | ||||||||||
| OPS | D. Wright | 1.110 | ||||||||||
| W | R. Dickey | 6 | ||||||||||
| ERA | J. Santana | 3.24 | ||||||||||
| SO | J. Santana | 53 | ||||||||||
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