Mets at Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates got their bats going over the past few days, just in time for a matchup with New York Mets star right-hander Jacob deGrom in the opener of a three-game series at home Friday night. The Pirates gained a split of a four-game series in Atlanta with Thursday's 9-4 win and they averaged 8.7 runs and 14 hits over the final three games of the set.
Adam Frazier homered twice, drove in six runs and scored four times in the last two contests versus the Braves, pushing his average to .361. He and his teammates will look to stay hot against deGrom, who is coming off his best start of the year with seven scoreless innings and nine strikeouts in a win over the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander had his scheduled start Thursday pushed back a day in order to avoid inclement weather in New York, where the Mets were playing the finale of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Rafael Montero struggled in place of deGrom and a ninth-inning rally was not enough as New York fell 4-3 to cap a 3-3 homestand.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (3-1, 3.56 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Chad Kuhl (1-4, 5.85)
DeGrom has given up nine runs on 16 hits in 11 innings over his last two road starts and lost his only previous decision in Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old leads the National League with 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings but he also has the highest walk rate of his career (3.7). Josh Harrison and Gregory Polanco are both 1-for-8 against deGrom, combining for seven strikeouts.
Kuhl limited the Philadelphia Phillies to one hit in five scoreless innings Sunday after giving up 10 runs in nine frames over his previous two outings. He has an unsightly 8.20 ERA and 2.09 WHIP in five home starts and has gone no further than five innings in six consecutive starts. The Delaware native has never faced the Mets.
WALK-OFFS
1. Pirates RF Andrew McCutchen, who is batting .203, has been held out of the starting lineup two games in a row.
2. New York 1B Lucas Duda was 5-for-10 with five RBIs and three runs scored in the series versus San Diego.
3. The Mets activated SS Asdrubal Cabrera (thumb) from the 10-day disabled list Thursday and optioned C Kevin Plawecki to Triple-A Las Vegas.