MMO Game Thread: Mets vs Pirates, 1:35 PM

The New York Mets wrap up their four-game series on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 PM at PNC Park.

Bartolo Colon (8-5, 3.67) looks to continue his recent run of success on the mound against Edinson Volquez (5-6, 4.35) in the first official game of the second half of the season.

Colon has been nothing but outstanding in his last seven starts for the Mets. He is 6-0 with an ERA of 1.58 over that span with opponents hitting .191 against him. He as 39 strikeouts to nine walks during that time frame. Since May 17th, Colon has the second-lowest ERA in the major leagues, trailing just Felix Hernandez with his 1.48.

Bartolo has allowed two earned runs or less in seven straight starts which ties the longest streak in his career. Colon has had 30 starts over the last two seasons in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer which is eighth in the major leagues over that span. On top of all of that, Colon has gone eight innings in consecutive starts for the second time in two years. The last time he did that was back in 2003.

The Mets snapped a three-game losing streak on Saturday when they defeated the Pirates 5-3. The Mets are sitting just four wins away from 4,000 in franchise history. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games, and are 17-11 this season in day games, so it is setting up nicely for win 3,997.

New York was solid on the base path Saturday tying a season-high with five swipes. It was the 27th time in team history that they recorded at least five steals in a game. Eric Young Jr led the way stealing three which also tied a career high for him. It was the second time this season and fourth of his career that he finished with at least three. With 21 stolen bases on the season, Young Jr is now fourth in the majors.

Ruben Tejada is working on a little bit of a hit streak. He has at least one hit in seven straight games, and has gone 9-for-25 in that span for an average of .360. He is hitting .300 over his last 26 games, and with 33 walks he is tied for fourth in the major among shortstops.

Eric Campbell who started at third in place of David Wright, had a career-high three hits including two doubles. He also recorded his first stolen base of his career.

Travis d’Arnaud has recorded at least one hit in each of the four games since returning from Las Vegas. He has gone 6-for-16 raising his batting aver over 20 points from .180 to .201

Starting Lineup

Eric Young Jr – LF
Ruben Tejada – SS
Daniel Murphy – 2B
Curtis Granderson – RF
Lucas Duda – 1B
Eric Campbell – 3B
Juan Lagares – CF
Travis d’Arnaud – C
Bartolo Colon – P

The Mets look to end their four game set with the Pirates today. The Mets were able to pick up the win yesterday, snapping their losing streak and putting themselves into position to split the series today behind Bartolo Colon. Colon is 8-5 over 15 starts this year with a 3.67 ERA over 100.2 innings. In his last six starts he has pitched 43.1 innings with a 5-0 record and a 1.45 ERA. He also pitched once against the Pirates this year where he allowed 5 hits and no runs over 7.1 innings while walking 1 and striking out 9. The Pirates have the following numbers against Colon:

Stewart 4-11, HR
Snider 3-9
McCutchen 3-8
Marte 0-7
Alvarez 2-6, 2B
Martin 1-6, 2B

Volquez is on the bump for the Pirates today. He is 5-6 over 16 games and 15 starts over 89.0 innings with a 4.35 ERA. June has been an up ad down month for Volquez. He started off average, then had his best start of the season allowing no runs over 7, then his worst start of the season allowing 8 runs over 2.1 followed by his longest outing of the year allowing one run over 8. Earlier this year he faced the Mets allowing 2 earned runs over 5.0 innings while walking 5 and striking out 6. The Mets have teh following numbers against him: