<
        >

          New York Mets

          Morning Briefing: Series win rests on Colon

          • Danny Knobler | Special to ESPNNewYork.com
          Apr 24, 2014, 07:00 AM ET

          NEW YORK

          FIRST PITCH: The Mets have a chance to win a series from the Cardinals for the first time since June 2012 if they can take Thursday afternoon's 1:10 p.m. series finale. After facing Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha the last two nights, the Mets will now see Lance Lynn (4-0, 3.42), tied for the National League lead in wins.

          Bartolo Colon (1-3, 5.40), who has pitched well in three of his four starts, is the Mets' scheduled starter.

          Thursday's news reports:

          • The Mets battled Wacha, the Cardinals and the terrible conditions, and came away with a 3-2 win that was only sealed with the help of a great Kirk Nieuwenhuis-to-Ruben Tejada-to-Travis d'Arnaud relay to get Matt Carpenter at the plate in the ninth inning. Read game recaps in the Post, Daily News, Times, Newsday, Star Ledger, Record, Wall Street Journal and MLB.com.

          • Curtis Granderson's hitless streak ended at a career-high 22 at-bats when he singled in the first inning Wednesday, but Granderson ended the night 1-for-3 with a .125 batting average. His career numbers suggest he'll get better, and Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens believes he will. Read more in the Post. The Mets need Granderson to hit if they're going to do anything offensively, columnist John Harper points out in the Daily News.

          • Daisuke Matsuzaka got another big out in relief Wednesday night, and manager Terry Collins said he could see using Matsuzaka as the closer. Read more in Newsday, the Wall Street Journal, the Star Ledger and MLB.com.

          • This was a character win for the Mets, columnist George Willis says in the Post. But the Mets will need to score more runs, and Jared Diamond in the Wall Street Journal says the numbers suggest that they won't.

          • With Ivan Nova of the Yankees apparently headed for Tommy John surgery, Dan Martin of the Post checked in with Matt Harvey, who explained his decision to have the operation.

          BIRTHDAYS: Carlos Beltran turns 36 . . . Pat Zachry is 61.

          TWEET OF THE DAY:

          YOU'RE UP: What would you think of Daisuke Matsuzaka as the Mets closer?