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New York Mets will begin a six-game road trip tonight with manager Willie Randolph, but whether or not he returns with the team is anyone's guess.
Randolph's crew continues its interleague slate this evening with the first of three games against the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium.
With their manager's job hanging in the balance, the Mets took two of three games from the Texas Rangers over the weekend and split a doubleheader with them on Sunday at Shea Stadium.
New York rallied late in the first game, but came up just short in an 8-7 loss.
Pedro Martinez got the Mets back on track in game two, as he tossed six solid innings in a 4-2 victory. Robinson Cancel's two-run pinch-hit single in the sixth proved to be the difference.
David Wright went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Carlos Beltran went 2-for-5 with a run batted in for New York, which has won just three of its last 10 games.
Cancel's hit was his first in the majors since September 21, 1999.
Martinez (2-0) gave up two runs -- one earned -- on six hits and one walk, while striking out four to earn the win. Billy Wagner, who had blown his last three save opportunities, worked a perfect ninth inning to earn his 14th save of the season.
Getting the call for the Mets tonight will be right-hander Mike Pelfrey, who is winless in his last 10 starts. Pelfrey, though, was brilliant in his last outing on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, as he allowed just a run and five hits while striking out eight over eight innings. However, Wagner blew the save and Pelfrey did not get a decision in an eventual 5-3 Mets win.
Pelfrey, who is 2-6 with a 4.24 ERA on the season, has allowed just four earned runs over his last three starts spanning 21 innings, but does not have a win to show for it.
The Angels will counter with a young righty of their own in 25-year-old Jered Weaver, who has won four of his last five starts. Weaver's latest win came on Tuesday against Tampa Bay, as he allowed a run and four hits over eight innings to run his record to 6-6 and lower his ERA to 4.45.
Like Pelfrey, this will be Weaver's first appearance against his opponent tonight.
The Angels salvaged the finale of their three-game interleague set with the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, as Casey Kotchman's two-run homer and 7 1/3 strong innings from starter Joe Saunders propelled Los Angeles to a 2-0 win.
Saunders (10-3) scattered six hits in the outing, fanning three without walking a batter to earn the victory, his fourth in six starts.
Vlad Guerrero doubled and scored while Kotchman launched his seventh homer of the season for the Angels, who won for just the third time in their last seven tries.
The Angels took two of three meetings from the Mets during the last time these two teams squared off, back in 2005 in Flushing. New York, though, took two of three from the Angels in its last visit to Anaheim back in 2003.
