Mets at Brewers
As if the New York Mets haven't experienced enough adversity with their rotation, they face the real possibility of being without their closer for a significant amount of time. Following a diagnosis of an arterial clot in Jeurys Familia's right shoulder on their day off, the Mets take their short-handed pitching staff to Milwaukee for the opener of a three-game set Friday against the Brewers.
Noah Syndergaard (lat) and Steven Matz (elbow) have combined for a total of five starts because of injuries, while Friday's scheduled starter Matt Harvey is only a few days removed from a suspension he received for missing his Saturday's home turn against Miami because of an unexcused absence. To add insult to injury, the Mets on Thursday learned Familia, who served a 15-game suspension at the beginning of the season because of a violation of the domestic violence policy, will travel to St. Louis for further evaluation on his shoulder and possible surgery. Milwaukee began its six-game homestand by taking two of three from Boston, although it watched its three-game winning streak snapped in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Red Sox. The Brewers are experiencing their own injury issues as Ryan Braun could be sidelined for a while after the team announced the six-time All-Star is dealing with a calf strain instead of the calf tightness that led to his early exit Wednesday.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Matt Harvey (2-2, 5.14 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Matt Garza (1-0, 2.55)
Harvey will return to the mound for the first time since serving a team-imposed three-game suspension for violating team rules last weekend hoping to end a four-game winless streak. The 2013 All-Star has struggled mightily over his last two outings - both losses against Atlanta - giving up six runs in each turn while surrendering a total of 13 hits and eight walks across 9 2/3 innings. Harvey settled for a no-decision in his only career start versus the Brewers last season despite allowing one run and two hits while fanning eight in six frames.
After posting an ERA north of 4.50 in back-to-back seasons, Garza is off to a strong start in 2017 and coming off his best effort - a no-decision at Pittsburgh in which he yielded one run on eight hits over seven innings. The 12-year veteran hasn't issued a free pass in either one of his last two outings spanning 13 2/3 innings and owns a 5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, more than twice his career mark (2.4). Jay Bruce (12-for-33, three home runs) has thrived versus Garza, who is 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA in four starts against the Mets.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mets RHP Addison Reed went 4-for-4 in save chances during Familia's season-opening absence.
2. Brewers RHP Corey Knebel has not allowed a run in nine straight and 17 of 19 outings this season. He is the only reliever in the majors to record at least one strikeout in every appearance this season (minimum 15 games).
3. New York entered Thursday leading the majors in run scored in May (64).