Pre-game news and notes: September 13 Pirates vs Mets

Notes:

• The Pirates are 0-3 at Citi Field since it opened in 2009. (This is their first trip to the big apple this season.)
• The Mets are 40-27 at home this season but have fallen to 10-11 since the All-Star break.
• Neil Walker looks to extend his current hit streak to 19, which would be a Pirates rookie franchise record.
• Luis Heredia, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie will all report to Pirates city this week for the first round of instructional league.
• Chan Ho Park is currently tied with Hideo Nomo for most wins by an Asian-born pitcher. (123) Park has only given up one earned run in his last 12 appearances.

 

Pitching Matchup:

James McDonald 3-5, 4.81 ERA

VS

Dillon Gee1-0, 1.29 ERA

McDonald battled the Braves and even outdueled ace Tim Hudson during his last start. He picked up his third win pitching seven shutout innings, gave up five hits, walked three and struck out three. J-Mac has been a different story on the road with an alarming 6.50 ERA. He has since been working on some mechanical issues that hopefully translate to his start against the Mets.  

Gee is making his second major league start for the Mets. His first start was pretty impresive, a no-hitter until the sixth inning. Gee pitched seven innings giving up two hits on one run, (a home run by Willie Harris) walked three and struck out four. Dillon also picked up a hit during his first at-bat, a RBI single.

 

Pirates Lineup:

McCutchen CF

Tabata LF

Walker 2B

Jones 1B

Alvarez 3B

Bowker RF

Cedeno SS

Snyder C

McDonald P

Mets Lineup:

Reyes SS

Pagan RF

Beltran CF

Wright 3B

Davis 1B

Thole C

Duda LF

Hernandez 2B

Gee P