Steve Merril's Sunday Night MLB Preview (Mets/Dodgers)

East Coast versus West Coast on Sunday night baseball as the Mets conclude their four-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

The Weakest Link

The Mets have been successful this season by using a four-man pitching rotation of R.A. Dickey, Johan Santana, Jonathon Niese, and Dillon Gee. However, of those four starters, Gee has been by far the weakest link. The other three pitchers each have an ERA of 3.55 or less with a WHIP of 1.27 or less, while Gee has struggled with a 4.42 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Gee is coming off one of his worst starts of the season last Tuesday when he allowed 4 runs and 9 hits in just five innings against the Cubs in Chicago. Overall, Gee has a 4.23 ERA and 1.36 WHIP on the road this season.

Mr. Consistency

Los Angeles starter, Clayton Kershaw, has been the most consistent starter in the league the past four seasons. He struggled in his rookie season in 2008 with a 4.26 ERA and only 100 strikeouts, but he has dominated ever since with a 2.79 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 2009, 2.91 ERA and 212 strikeouts in 2010, and 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts in 2011 which led to the Cy Young award. Kershaw is once again having a fantastic season this year with a 2.74 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 16 starts with a 103/27 strikeout/walk ratio.

Offensive Injuries

The Dodgers have suffered a major blow to their offensive power this season as their top two power hitters, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, are currently out of the lineup. Ethier strained his left oblique on Wednesday and is out indefinitely, while Kemp has been out since he re-aggravated his hamstring injury on May 30th. The two players have combined for 22 home runs this season, while the rest of the team had combined for just 23 home runs all year entering Saturday's game. Ethier and Kemp have also combined for 83 RBI as they rank first and second on the team.

Hitters vs. Starters

Matt Kemp's injury is good news for Dillon Gee as Kemp was 2-for-5 (.400) in his career versus the right-hander. Tony Gwynn is 2-for-3 (.667) versus Gee, while the rest of the Dodgers' lineup is just 2-for-10 (.200) if you remove the injured Andre Ethier (0-for-4).

The Mets' current players have struggled against Kershaw, going a combined 15-for-77 (.195). The three hitters with the most career at-bats versus Kershaw have mixed results as David Wright is just 1-for-9 (.111) and Andres Torres is only 2-for-19 (.105), while Scott Hairston is surprisingly 7-for-17 (.412) versus Kershaw.

Trends to Watch

Dodgers are 20-6 in Kershaw's last 26 home starts Mets are 1-5 in Gee's last 6 starts Mets are 19-6-1 Over last 26 road games vs. LH starter Kershaw is 13-4-1 Under in his last 18 home starts