Travis d'Arnaud and the New York Mets are pounding the ball on the road lately, but finding success at the plate against Johnny Cueto may be unlikely.
After opening this three-game set with a superb offensive display, d'Arnaud and the Mets will try to solve Cueto and beat the Cincinnati Reds again Saturday.
New York (67-74) has used brute force to win four of five games on the road, hitting .340 with 11 homers and 43 runs.
The Mets did a great deal of damage while cruising to Friday's 14-5 win over Cincinnati (66-75), scoring in every inning but the third to post their highest run total of the season. They connected for five homers for the first time since 2006 and tied their season high of 18 hits.
D'Arnaud has been a major part of New York's offensive onslaught, going 11 for 21 with a pair of homers and six RBIs in five road games. He went 3 for 4 with four RBIs and was one of five Mets to homer in the series opener.
"I've been keeping things simple and having fun with the guys," said d'Arnaud, whose 13 homers are a team rookie record for a catcher. "It feels like everybody's hitting the ball hard."
David Wright certainly is, going 9 for 21 (.429) with six RBIs in five away games. He may have been held within the confines of Great American Ball Park on Friday, but he matched his career high with four hits.
New York, however, is in for a stiff test against Cueto (16-8, 2.26 ERA), a contender for the NL Cy Young Award who ranks fourth in the majors in ERA and second in wins - one fewer than the Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw.
Cueto is also 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts versus the Mets, and he's held Wright to 1 for 11 since 2011. He seemed headed for another win against them April 5, allowing two runs and striking out nine in seven innings before J.J. Hoover served up a walkoff grand slam in a 6-3 loss.
The right-hander yielded two runs in eight innings of Sunday's 3-2 win at Pittsburgh after giving up eight runs in 11 1-3 while losing his two prior games.
"He's been outstanding and arguably the best in the National League for me, if not the best without question," manager Bryan Price said.
"I've had guys that have lost the anticipation of being able to win," he said. "That can't happen. It's unacceptable and he's never given in to that perception, that he doesn't have a great chance to win every time he takes the mound even though we've had a challenging year."
The Mets will counter with Dillon Gee (6-6, 3.81), who seeks his first three-start winning streak since May 30-June 12, 2013. He's won his last two starts at home while allowing five runs in 12 2-3 innings after going 0-5 with a 5.71 ERA over his previous seven overall.
That stretch includes three losses in four road games, compiling a 5.96 ERA after returning from a right lat strain that sidelined him for almost two months.
Gee, making his first appearance in Cincinnati, is 0-1 with a 4.05 ERA in two career meetings with the Reds.
