An eight game homestand continues for the Pittsburgh Pirates as the New York Mets come to town for a three game series. The Mets come into the series with a 24-18 overall which places them half a game behind first place in the National League East.
Tonight’s starters:
The Pirates will send right-handed starter Gerrit Cole to the mound against Noah Syndergaard.
Cole is coming off a loss to the Chicago Cubs in which he allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings of work. Cole is 0-2 in his career against the Mets with an 8.00 ERA in two starts. Cole is hitting .235 on the season. In his last 16 starts at PNC Park Cole has posted a 9-2 record with a 3.00 ERA.
Syndergaard earned his first major league victory in his last time out in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers. He has held left-handed batters to a .188 batting average over his first two starts. He was the Mets top prospect according to MLB.com, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus with all three ranking him among their top 11 overall prospects.
Syndergaard may be pitching to keep his spot in the team’s rotation as Dillon Gee is expected to join the Mets tomorrow. Gee has been on the disabled list since May 8 with a groin injury.
Pregame thoughts:
It is no secret that the Pirates have had a lot of peaks and valleys this season, but how do you undo it?
“You get focused on the good stuff,” Jared Hughes said. “When we win, we really take that positive energy, feed off it and continue to get better. When you lose you figure out what you did well that day and focus on the good stuff and keep getting better. It’s all about hunting the good stuff and the wins.”
“You take the same mental approach you came in with Opening Day,” Chris Stewart added. Everybody had the same positive emotions and was ready to get going. Regardless of if you win the night before 10-0 or lost the night before 10-0, you’ve got to wipe that away and come ready to play the next day.”
Hughes admitted he has pressed multiple times over the course of his career. It allowed him to hit the refresh button and ultimately trust himself more.
“We have a bunch of guys with a lot of experience that have been through tough times and have been through good times,” said Hughes. “We all know that in order continue to get better we need to learn from our mistakes and keep a level head.”
In his pregame press conference, Clint Hurdle revealed that Charlie Morton will make his first start of the season Monday against the Miami Marlins. Morton will take Vance Worley’s spot in the rotation. Hurdle said that Worley will be in the bullpen for now. A corresponding move will be made Monday.
“I am eager to see it,” Hurdle said of Morton’s start. “He’s eager to get back out there in a major league uniform and help us.”
Gregory Polanco is back in the lineup and will bat seventh. This is the first time will hit below third in the lineup and based on Hurdle’s remarks it will not be the last.
“I’m going to keep him down for a while, [Josh] Harrison has answered the bell,” said Hurdle. “I wanted to make sure [Polanco] understood that we weren’t looking for anything more than to hit the refresh button. It’s just another occasion for him to bounce back.”
Bottom of the ninth:
Andrew McCutchen being a focal point has been commonplace these past few years, however this time it was not for something he did on the field or an endorsement off the field.
A post was made on Reddit that was picked up by Deadspin considering a found pay stub that revealed several pieces of information including additions, deductions and in the Reddit version phone numbers and the last four digits of McCutchen’s bank account. The pay stub found at Wrigley Field showed a deposit of $427,098.49.
“It happens,” McCutchen said. “It’s no surprise what I make but it is a surprise to people when you see all of those taxes that are taken away. Athletes fee, what is that?”
McCutchen was in a joking mood with reporters about the picture and both he and his wife Maria read comments posted on Deadspin. Still the lesson was learned.
“I don’t like that my personal information was out there, but next time I’ll make sure I have my stub with me,” said McCutchen.
Photo credit: Pittsburgh Pirates
