A soft spot in the schedule was supposed to help the New York Mets (85-50) propel themselves to the National League East title but things didn’t go as planned over the weekend. The Mets dropped two out of three to the worst team in baseball, the Washington Nationals, and saw their lead in the division shrink to just one game over the Atlanta Braves. A rainout yesterday bought the Mets a day of rest before they begin a six-game road trip today against the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates (49-84). First pitch for the opener of this three-game set is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at PNC Park.
2021 was a rebuilding year for the Pirates, who went 61-101 to finish in dead last in the National League Central, trailing the first-place Milwaukee Brewers by 34 games. Pittsburgh opted not to do a ton of heavy lifting in the offseason, instead opting to keep giving their young guys some playing time as they look to bide time until their next generation of top prospects is ready for the majors. The farm system has already produced one potential gem in shortstop Oneil Cruz, who is a physical marvel at 6-foot-7 with the ability to crush the baseball with elite exit velocity, but this is still a very bad baseball team. The Mets will need to take advantage of their seven matchups with the Pirates over the next two weeks in order to build a much-needed cushion in the division.
Right-hander Taijuan Walker (10-3, 3.45 ERA) is set to take the mound for the Mets today. Walker pitched well in his last start, giving up three runs in 5.1 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Tuesday, but was not a factor in the decision of a game the Mets ended up losing 4-3. The Pirates will counter with righty Mitch Keller (4-10, 4.43 ERA). Keller delivered a quality start his last time out, giving up just two runs in six innings against the Brewers last Tuesday, but was not a factor in the decision as the Pirates ended up picking up a 4-2 win and scored the winning runs after Keller departed.
Local Coverage:
Television: SNY
Radio: WCBS
New York Mets Lineup:
First of three in the Steel City. #LGM
🆚: Pittsburgh
💪: @tai_walker
📍: PNC Park
🕕: 6:35 p.m.
📺: @SNYtv
📻: @wcbs880
🔗: https://t.co/9g9yBQJ7IF pic.twitter.com/pkZtMYt7Yy— New York Mets (@Mets) September 6, 2022
Pre-Game Notes:
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The Mets went just 3-4 against the Pirates last season and dropped two out of three during their last visit to PNC Park in July of 2021.
Walker is 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in three career starts against the Pirates.
Keller has never faced the Mets before.
The Mets have dropped the slumping Daniel Vogelbach to the sixth spot in the batting order behind Jeff McNeil.
Tyler Naquin is 3 for 8 (.375) with three doubles and an RBI against Keller.
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