The Pittsburgh Pirates begin a three game weekend series with the New York Mets tonight at 7:10 p.m.
After a nice off day to begin the month of June, the Pittsburgh Pirates are back in action tonight to begin a three game set against the New York Mets. The Bucs enter the series having lost four of their last six games, dropping two of three to the Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks at PNC Park. The Pirates (24-30) still remain in the basement of the National League Central, but they are not far behind as they sit just five games back in the divisional race. In fact, they sit just one game behind the Cincinnati Reds for fourth in the division and two games behind the Chicago Cubs for third.
Like the Pirates, the Mets (23-29) have had their fair share of struggles in a bad division. You may ask, ‘well, how bad could the NL East actually be?’ Well, the Mets record isn’t much different from the Pirates, and they currently sit in second place in their division while the Bucs sit in last. However, the Washington Nationals do have a stranglehold on the East, leading by 10 games.
This matchup could very well go either way, but that’s what makes it exciting. The individual matchups we will see in this series are the same way. With that being said, let’s get to our three matchups to watch:
3.) Gerrit Cole vs. Jay Bruce
Gerrit Cole and Jay Bruce have had some memorable battles over the last four years. They know each other very well from the time Bruce spent with the Reds, and it has been a very back-and-forth battle between the two.
In his career against Cole, Bruce is 6-for-20 (.300) with one home run, four RBIs, three runs scored and a pair of walks. Cole has also had success against Bruce, striking him out on four occasions including twice in five meetings in 2014.
The Pirates latest series against the Mets allowed the two to meet once again. While Cole held Bruce hitless in two of his at-bats, the Mets outfielder also crushed a solo home run in the game.
The long history between the two isn’t the only reason this matchup intrigues me. I’m interested because Cole has struggled in his last few outings and Bruce drove in four runs against the Pirates a few days ago and was the Mets biggest offensive weapon.
Despite going 1-for-15 in the Mets latest series against Milwaukee, Bruce has always hit relatively well against Cole and his recent surge against the Bucs could give him confidence heading in to this series.
The good news for Cole, who is coming off of back-to-back starts of allowing four or more earned runs, is that Bruce has not hit well against the Bucs in his career – holding a .238 career average against the Bucs – and he could just be coming off of a lucky series in Pittsburgh.
Cole, who is 2-5 with a 3.65 ERA in 11 starts, had four exceptional starts to begin the month of May before struggling in his last two. In each of his first four May starts, Cole didn’t allow more than two earned runs and pitched at least six innings. In his last two starts, cole has allowed a combined nine earned runs on 20 hits in 9.2 innings.
Why do I like this matchup? Because it could go either way. Both players have had their fair share of struggles, but we’ve also seen them each show greatness. It will be very interesting to see which one is great tonight.
2.) Andrew McCutchen vs. Matt Harvey
The first month and a half of the 2017 season have been frustrating for Andrew McCutchen. The former NL MVP has had lingering struggles and a batting average that has been on the verge of reaching under the .200 mark. However, he has turned things around as of late.
In his last seven games, McCutchen has been the Pirates hottest hitter. Yes, I know we haven’t said that in awhile, so it must be a pleasant sight for Pirates fans to see. In that seven game span, McCutchen is hitting .381 with a pair of homers and four RBIs. He has struck out seven times and walked four. Cutch was stellar in the Mets series, going 4-for-11 with a home run and three RBIs.
In the series, Cutch went 1-for-3 against Mets hurler Matt Harvey. The two have faced off on a number of occasions over the years as McCutchen is 3-for-7 (.429) with a home run and a pair of RBIs in his career against Harvey.
While Cutch has been better as of late following struggles, Harvey has been the same way. Despite holding a 4.95 ERA in 10 starts this season, Harvey has allowed just three combined runs through 11 innings in his last two starts.
While I can imagine Harvey is looking forward to getting another opportunity to face the Bucs after allowing just one earned run on six hits in six innings Sunday, Cutch may be just as excited to get another shot at the Mets right hander. It will be very interesting to see who comes out with the upper hand in this battle of struggling superstars trying to find their form once again.
1.) Tyler Glasnow vs. Mets
Tyler Glasnow will be looking for redemption tomorrow night when he takes the hill opposing Mets starter Robert Gsellman. Glasnow, who has had his fair share of struggles this season, allowed five earned runs on eight hits while striking out three and walking none in five innings.
The 23 year old was stellar threw three innings, but fell apart in the fourth and fifth innings of his latest start. Glasnow had only given up a combined four earned runs in his previous two starts combined.
The right hander is 2-4 this season with a 6.95 ERA in 10 starts, but if there is one good thing to take away from his latest start, it is that his control was relatively stellar. He threw 56 of his 87 pitches for strikes, but he did not allow a walk, something he hasn’t done all season.
While the Mets lineup isn’t easy to face off against, Glasnow will have to put his past performance against New York behind him and focus on the three solid innings he had before collapsing. We know Glasnow can pile on the strikeouts (he has 44 in 45.1 innings), but he needs to work on being more effective on the mound. Now that he’s gotten a glimpse of what guys like Jay Bruce bring to the table, we could see him have a better outing this time around.
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