NL Beast

2:07 pm: Carlos Beltran hurt? Willie Randolph and the Mets trainer headed out to the batter’s box after an odd turnover by Beltran. Beltran stayed in the game and walked during the at bat in the 1st.

UPDATE: The Mets finally get the game underway after a 40 minute delay. Guess the Mets are so focused on Citi Field they forgot to take care of the old place. Oops.

UPDATE: Water Main break at Shea. Oliver Perez hasn’t even started warming up yet.

The Game: Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Mets

The Matchup: Tom Gorzalanny (1-3, 8.46) vs. Oliver Perez (2-1, 3.62)

The Story: The Mets are coming off of an 11th inning win that should have only taken 9 last night against Ian Snell and the Pirates. Shoddy defense and unreliable bullpen pitching blew the game for the Mets in the 9th and forced Willie Randolph to use almost every bullpen pitcher, including 2 innings of Billy Wagner.

Oliver Perez comes off of a shaky start last Thursday night in Washington, when he helped load the bases, allowing Aaron Heilman to give up a grand slam in the 5th. The common theme with Oli this year (and last year as well) has been to pitch well until the 5th before losing confidence and missing the zone. With a depleted bullpen, he needs to go at least 6 today.

Carlos Delgado went 0-5 last night. Expect plenty of boos.

The Lineups:
Pirates: McLouth (CF)Sanchez (2B), Bay (LF), Doumit (C), Nady (RF), LaRoche (1B), Bautista (3B), Gomez (SS), Gorzelanny (P)
Mets: Reyes (SS), Castillo (2B), Wright (3B), Beltran (CF), Church (RF), Delgado (1B), Pagan (LF), Molina (C), Perez (P)