Mets-Pirates Series Preview

When we last saw the Pittsburgh Pirates they were carving up the Mets bullpen like a Thanksgiving turkey, forcing Jerry Manuel to lay down the law on his hapless relievers. But after a sweep of Washington, the Mets now find themselves in first place again. What a difference four days makes. The big guns in their lineup are all starting to click. Jose Reyes leads the NL in hits (156), triples (13) and multiple hit games (49). David Wright is third in the league in RBIs, with 94, and has 10 in his last 10 games. Carlos Delgado has been on fire since the beginning of July. And here comes Carlos Beltran. I love how he now catches almost every fly ball anywhere in the outfield. Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis literally run away from him if he’s anywhere near the ball. Let’s face it, it’s safer that way. And it looks like Billy Wagner is on schedule to come off the DL for Monday’s game.

As for the Pirates, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady were sent packing. They haven’t had a winning record since 1992. Honus Wagner is still dead. They once wore hideous yellow and black uniforms. In fact, the 1979 matchup of the Pirates and Orioles was voted to have the worst uniforms in World Series history (well, voted by me). But they are in fifth place, and not last, so they have that going for them. They do play in a pretty cool stadium, though, with great views. And PNC Park was one of the inspirations for the design of Citi Field. Meanwhile, Shea Stadium remains the Pittsburgh of New York City.

Here are the pitching matchups:

Friday: Mike Pelfrey (10-8, 4.11) vs. Jason Davis (1-1, 1.38)

Saturday: Pedro Martinez (3-3, 5.37) vs. Zach Duke (4-10, 5.10)

Sunday: Johan Santana (10-7, 2.89) vs. Jeff Karstens (2-1, 1.23)

Monday: John Maine (10-7, 3.97) vs. Paul Maholm (8-7, 3.69)

Who’s Hot/Mets:

The bullpen: They threw 8.1 scoreless innings against Washington.

Daniel Murphy: He’s hitting .441, with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs in his last 12 games (which is, of course, his whole career).

Johan Santana: In his last five starts, he’s only given up nine earned runs.

Who’s Not/Mets:

The bullpen: Sure, they pitched well against the Nationals, but hey, it’s the Nationals. They still have the highest ERA (94.36) of all bullpens since the All-Star break.

The second basemen: Damion Easley and Argenis Reyes only have eight combined hits in their last 20 games.

Who’s Hot/Pirates:

The 1971–1979 Pirates

Who’s Not/Pirates:

The 1993–2008 Pirates