Pirates look to stop 6-game slide against Mets
Pittsburgh Pirates (46-57, fifth in the NL Central) vs. New York Mets (48-55, fourth in the NL East)
Flushing, Queens; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Trevor Williams (3-3, 4.96 ERA) Mets: Steven Matz (5-6, 4.75 ERA)
LINE: Mets favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh enters the matchup as losers of their last six games.
The Mets are 26-20 in home games. New York is slugging .432 as a unit. Pete Alonso leads the team with a .607 slugging percentage, including 57 extra-base hits and 34 home runs.
The Pirates are 23-30 on the road. The Pittsburgh offense has compiled a .268 batting average as a team this season, good for first in the National League. Bryan Reynolds leads the team with a an average of .331. The Mets won the last meeting 6-3. Zack Wheeler recorded his seventh victory and Jeff McNeil went 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for New York. Dario Agrazal took his first loss for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alonso leads the Mets with 76 RBIs and is batting .263. Robinson Cano is 8-for-37 with a double, three home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.
Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 111 hits and is batting .290. Starling Marte has 15 hits and is batting .357 over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Mets: 6-4, .241 batting average, 2.46 ERA, outscored opponents by 20 runs
Pirates: 2-8, .249 batting average, 4.55 ERA, outscored by 15 runs
Mets Injuries: Drew Smith: 60-day IL (elbow), Brandon Nimmo: 10-day IL (neck), Yoenis Cespedes: 60-day IL (heels), Jed Lowrie: 60-day IL (knee).
Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: 60-day IL (elbow), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Clay Holmes: 10-day IL (triceps), Rookie Davis: 10-day IL (finger/forearm), Nick Burdi: 60-day IL (biceps), Steven Brault: 10-day IL (shoulder), Gregory Polanco: 10-day IL (shoulder), Corey Dickerson: day-to-day (groin), Lonnie Chisenhall: 60-day IL (finger), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Francisco Cervelli: 60-day IL (concussion).
