Pittsburgh @ New York preview
Citi Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 22, 2010 ) NY Mets 1, Pittsburgh 2
One of the primary reasons the Pittsburgh Pirates are enduring their 18th straight losing season has been an inability to win on the road. The only reason the New York Mets are hovering near .500 is because they have played well at home.
The Mets will be looking to use that to their advantage when they open a four-game set against the lowly Pirates on Monday.
Ironically, it is New York that is coming off a home loss and Pittsburgh is riding a road win - just its 15th of the season.
While the Mets are 16 games below .500 on the road, they are a strong 40-27 at Citi Field. Though the new stadium generally depresses hitting statistics, New York is batting .259 with a .730 OPS at Citi Field vs. .240 and .664 marks on the road.
The pitchers certainly enjoy the expansive home surface as well, posting a 3.11 ERA at Citi Field against a 4.38 mark away.
New York was no match for the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, however, getting beaten by studs Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt while dropping two of three.
The Pirates needed some heroics on Sunday to avoid another three-game sweep on the road. Trailing 1-0 in the ninth, Pittsburgh loaded the bases against Cincinnati Reds closer Francisco Cordero before Andrew McCutchen came up and blasted a three-run double to give his team the edge.
Owners of the worst record in baseball, the Pirates posted just their second win in their last 19 games away from PNC Park.
Rookie Dillon Gee will make his second career start for New York on Monday. The 24-year-old right-hander debuted against the Washington Nationals last week and impressed, allowing just one run and two hits while walking three and striking out four in seven innings to pick up the win.
A 21st-round pick in the 2007 draft, Gee was pitching to a 13-8 record with a 4.96 ERA at Triple-A Buffalo before getting the call to the majors.
Pittsburgh will counter with right-hander James McDonald.
The 25-year-old California native turned in his best start since coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline last week, when he held the Atlanta Braves to five hits in seven scoreless frames to earn the win. That snapped a three-start losing streak.
McDonald wasn’t so sharp against the Mets on Aug. 21, getting knocked around for five runs and six hits while walking five in five innings to suffer a loss. David Wright hit a three-run homer in that contest.