The Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets were partners in misery last
season, with each missing the playoffs despite holding what was once
a comfortable lead in their respective divisions.

The teams, both with redemption on their minds this year, meet for
the first time in 2008 on Friday, when they kick off what's expected
to be a rain-soaked series at Shea Stadium.

The young Brewers were among baseball's biggest surprises in 2007,
jumping out to a 24-10 start and leading the NL Central for most of
the season.

But what was once an 8 1/2 game lead disappeared as the Chicago Cubs
instead took the division, with Milwaukee going 36-46 in the final
three months of the year.

"Now they've gone through it. There's nothing I need to tell them,"
Brewers manager Ned Yost told his team's official Web site. "They're
prepared. They understand what it feels like, what it smells like.
That's a huge bit of experience for a young team."

Series at a Glance
Milwaukee at
NY Mets
Fri, Apr 11 - 7:10 pm ET
Milwaukee at
NY Mets
Sat, Apr 12 - 1:10 pm ET
Milwaukee at
NY Mets
Sun, Apr 13 - 1:10 pm ET
The Mets aren't quite as young, but their well-documented 2007
collapse stung even more. New York led the NL East by seven games
with 17 to play, but surrendered the title to Philadelphia on the
final day of the regular season.

New York's struggles have carried over to this year, as the Mets (4-
4) dropped four of their first six. They also lost Pedro Martinez
last week to a hamstring injury, and Nelson Figueroa will make his
first start in his place on Friday.

Figueroa (0-0, 9.00 ERA) hadn't pitched in the majors since 2004
before making two relief appearances this year, and he hasn't earned
a win in the big leagues since beating the Brewers (6-3) in August
2003.

In the meantime, the right-hander pitched in the minors and in
professional leagues in Mexico and Taiwan.

"I got the chance around the world to let my talent shine without
being worried about getting sent down," Figueroa said. "I can only
pitch wherever you put me. Give me the opportunity to be on your team
… so I can prove to you that I can do it."

Figueroa will be opposed by Manny Parra, another player trying to
make the most of his chance in the majors. After making nine
appearances and two starts last year, Parra (1-0, 3.38) earned a spot
in the starting rotation in spring training - and earned his first
career win against San Francisco last week.

The left-hander threw five no-hit innings against the Giants before
having his bid broken up in the sixth, and ended up allowing two runs
on three hits with seven strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings.

Parra came out of the bullpen to throw 6 1-3 innings against the Mets
last Aug. 1, allowing just one run on four hits and striking out
eight in an 8-5 Brewers loss.

Both teams have seen their fortunes change in recent games. Milwaukee
had won four straight before dropping its last two to Cincinnati,
including Thursday's 4-1 loss.

The Mets had lost three straight, but they won their last two to take
their series against Philadelphia. They won Thursday's game 4-3 in 12
innings on Angel Pagan's RBI single.

"The way that we won I think gives us some momentum and hopefully we
can use that going forward," third baseman David Wright
said. "Everything was extremely negative after that first loss. To
come and take this series after dropping that first one hopefully
gives us some confidence."

Forecasts predict rain throughout the weekend, but this is the
Brewers' lone scheduled trip to New York this