Rangers-Mets Preview

The last time it appeared New York Mets manager Willie Randolph was about to lose his job, his club reeled off seven wins in nine games.

He could certainly use a couple more victories Sunday, and the weather is expected to cooperate when the Mets conclude their interleague series against the Texas Rangers with a doubleheader.

Amid fresh reports Randolph won’t last through the series against Texas, Mets general manager Omar Minaya was noncommittal Friday when asked whether Randolph has the backing of club executives.

"Bottom line is, I'm just not going to answer every report that's out there," Minaya said. "This is a game of performance and you have to do certain things."

The Mets (32-34), who have a $138 million payroll, are seven games behind division-leading Philadelphia after starting the season expecting to compete for their first World Series title in 22 years. They'd appeared to be motivated after squandering a seven-game lead in the NL East with 17 to play to miss the 2007 playoffs, handing the Phillies the division crown on the final day of the season.

New York doesn't appear to have recovered from that epic collapse, and Randolph seemed to be in danger of losing his job on May 26 when ownership called a meeting with him and Minaya.

After he remained at the helm, the Mets responded with a 7-2 stretch. They then dropped six of seven, though, and pressure again mounted on Randolph.

Hours after the latest report surfaced on Friday, New York rallied around its embattled manager and beat Texas 7-1.

"These games have been tough for me lately because we've been doing some good things and haven't been getting the results," Randolph said. "Hopefully we can get a win and another and start playing the way other teams in our division are."

The Mets and Rangers (34-35) were rained out Saturday, creating the doubleheader Sunday. The weather at Shea Stadium is expected to be 78 degrees and cloudy after some morning showers.

Randolph will turn to John Maine (6-4, 3.60 ERA) in the first game, and he hopes the right-hander can rebound from a shaky outing.

Maine didn't get a decision in a 9-5 loss to Arizona on Tuesday, when he allowed three runs and five hits in five innings. It was only the fourth time in 13 starts that Maine failed to pitch at least six innings.

He's 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA in six home games this season.

Pedro Martinez (1-0, 6.91 ERA), Saturday's originally scheduled starter, will take the mound for the Mets in the nightcap. Martinez is 9-2 with a 1.90 ERA in 13 career starts against the Rangers, but hasn't faced them since 2005, when he was with Boston.

The 36-year-old right-hander is coming off a shaky outing in Sunday's 8-6 loss at San Diego. The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed four runs and 10 hits in five innings, although he did not factor in the decision.

That outing came five days after Martinez looked strong in yielding three runs and seven hits in six innings of a 9-6 win at San Francisco -- his first start since missing more than two months with a hamstring injury.

As they try to avoid their first three-game losing streak since May 18-20, the Rangers will use Kevin Millwood (4-3, 4.91) in the opener.

The right-hander was tagged for five runs and 11 hits in six innings before Texas rallied to beat Kansas City 6-5 on Tuesday.

Millwood has won his last three starts at Shea, posting a 1.23 ERA. However, he hasn't faced the Mets since July 16, 2004, while pitching for Philadelphia.

Kason Gabbard (1-2, 4.75) oppose Martinez.

Gabbard started the season in the Rangers' rotation, but had been hit hard in his last three starts, going 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA. That poor stretch led to him being sent to Triple-A Oklahoma on May 30, two days after he was reached for five runs and five hits with six walks in 4 1-3 innings of a 5-3 loss at Tampa Bay.