Recent history lessons

1. The Mets have trouble with left-handers.

Dodgers left-handers were 2-1 with a 3.00 earned-run average against the Mets. Toss out Odalis Perez and Dodgers left-handers were 2-0 with an 0.44 ERA. Right-handers were 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA.

2. No Pedro? No Penny? No problem.

Pedro Martinez gave up six runs in five innings of his only start against the Dodgers this season, and Penny gave up seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Mets. Both lost their only start against the other team. But while Pedro has had success against the Dodgers in previous seasons, Penny hasn’t. In the last three seasons, he is 3-3 with a 5.45 ERA and the Mets are hitting .327 against him.

3. Shawn Green likes batting against his old team.

Take a look at his numbers against Dodgers pitching this season: 21 for 51 (.412) with six doubles, one triple, two home runs and seven runs batted in. In fact, Green has hit seven homers against the Dodgers since they traded him.

4. If Tom Glavine wins 300 games, he can thank the Dodgers.

Not only was Glavine 2-0 against L.A. this season, he became the first pitcher since Phil Niekro in 1979 to win 20 games against the Dodgers.

5. Holding Greg Maddux back until Game 3 is a good thing.

Maddux is 3-1 with a 1.76 ERA at Dodger Stadium this season, giving up only 28 hits and five walks in 41 innings. Everywhere else he is 12-13 with a 4.79 ERA. At Shea Stadium, he is 1-1 with a 7.94 ERA.

6. Maybe the Dodgers should drop Rafael Furcal to the cleanup spot.

The Dodgers leadoff hitter had three of the team’s nine homers against the Mets. Three were hit by Nomar Garciaparra, and three by players either not on the team or not on the playoff roster -- one each by Matt Kemp, Willy Aybar and Jose Cruz Jr.

7. The Dodgers might want to bring in Takashi Saito in the seventh.

Dodgers set-up men Brett Tomko and Jonathan Broxton haven’t fooled the Mets. Tomko is 0-1 with a 5.41 ERA against New York, and Broxton’s ERA is an ugly 27.00. Saito has given up one hit in four innings, with six strikeouts.

8. The Mets set-up pitchers pitch like Goose Gossage.

Roberto Hernandez, Chad Bradford, Guillermo Mota and Aaron Heilman, above, have not given up a run in 8 2/3 innings against the Dodgers.

9. Catching Dodgers pitchers didn’t help Paul Lo Duca hit them.

The former Dodgers catcher is batting .167 against L.A. this season, and since he was traded in 2004, he is batting only .229 with two extra-base hits against his old club.