7/27/18 Game Preview: New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates

MLB: New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates

The Mets have won three games in a row for the first time since Mickey Callaway was still considered a good manager. They go for four to continue their dead cat bounce against the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight from PNC Park at 7:05. Today’s Pittsburgh forecast calls for a thunderstorm in the afternoon, but you should be all right for the game tonight. If you’re going, remember that tonight is Faith Night sponsored by Chick-Fil-A. Also:

That’s right, get drunk on Faith Night, kids.

How To Enjoy

Television Coverage: It’s SNY tonight for Mets coverage. AT&T SportsNet if you’re in the Pittsburgh area. If you’re tuning in out there, get ready for Pirates announcers Greg Brown and Bob Walk to say things like “clear the deck” and “raise the jolly roger” because they’re things that actual pirates would say.

Radio Coverage: 710 WOR or ESPN Deportes 1050 here in New York, and  KDKA FM 93.7 out there.

The Pitchers

Oh good, Jason Vargas (2-6 8.60) is back. Vargas dominated with the Brooklyn Cyclones, pitching to a 1.50 ERA and a WHIP of 0.58. Gee, I hope they let him into PNC Park tonight.

Or maybe we should put his picture on the wall with a line through it for security.

Ivan Nova (6-6, 4.28 ERA), starts for the Pirates. He’s 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA and an opponents OPS of .297 since the beginning of June, but he has given up nine home runs in that span.

The Lineups

This was the original lineup for tonight …

Brandon Nimmo is in center field tonight, but with Austin Jackson in the fold this might be his last gig in CF for a while.

Asdrubal Cabrera was going to play second base tonight. Instead …

Freakin’ Reyes finds his way into the lineup again.

As for Pittsburgh:

I was stunned to learn that Sean Rodriguez actually made 24 appearances in center field. He’s there tonight.

Game Notes

  • Jose Bautista has hit .313 in his career against Nova, while walking eight times.
  • Jose Reyes is hitting .300 against Nova. The Mets had to trade Asdrubal Cabrera to get him in the lineup tonight.
  • David Freese is 7-for-13 against Vargas in his career with two home runs.
  • Sean Rodriguez (who apparently plays center field) is 3-for-21 career against Vargas.
  • Newest Met Austin Jackson, who should be available for the Mets tonight, is hitting .196 career at PNC Park, but he has three doubles. And he has a .421 career average against Nova (8-for-19) with three doubles. Leave it to me to find a bright spot for every situation.
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