PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES:….opened their six-game road trip with a 7-2 loss last night at Citi Field…Went 3-4 on their homestand against Atlanta (2-2) and Cincinnati (1-2)…Have gone 12-12 in their last 24 games since losing each of their first five games following the All-Star break…Have gone 2-1-3 in their last six series. KE’S TO THE GAME: Ke’Bryan Hayes delivered a run-scoring single in his first at-bat of the game last night while also adding a double in his next at-bat in the third inning…Hayes has now hit safely in each of his last six starts, going 11-for-26 (.423) with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and 11 RBI…Hayes comes into today with 12 RBI this month, tied for the seventh-most in the National League.
SUCCESSION OF SOUTHPAWS: This is the third time in five games the Pirates are being opposed by a left-handed starter… Friday night the Pirates faced Andrew Abbott and lost 9-2 against the Reds…On Sunday against Reds starter Brandon Williamson, Pittsburgh won 4-2 in game one of their doubleheader…Ke’Bryan Hayes has 15 hits in his last 41 at-bats (.366 average) against lefthanders…Pittsburgh is 16-20 in games started by opposing lefthanders this season.
DOWN ON THE FARM: 2023 No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes will make the second start of his professional career tonight with the Low-A Bradenton Marauders…Skenes made his professional debut on Thursday with the Florida Complex League Pirates, where he threw a total of 11 pitches (eight strikes) in 1.0 inning…The 21-year-old Skenes was rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 1 prospect in this year’s draft while also being tabbed by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect.
ABOUT TONIGHT’S STARTER: Bailey Falter will make his third start as a member of the Pirates tonight in game two of this series against the Mets…Falter was acquired from the Phillies on August 1 in exchange for infielder Rodolfo Castro…Falter spent a majority of this season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he went 2-1 with a 4.21 ERA (47.0ip/22er) in 11 starts…He also made eight appearances (seven starts) with the Phillies, going 0-7 with a 5.13 ERA (40.1ip/23er) and 28 strikeouts…Falter was a member of Philadelphia’s Wild Card, Division Series and LCS rosters in 2022 (he started Game Four of the NLCS vs. San Diego).
LOVE FOR LIOVER: Liover Peguero has hits in seven of his last 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position…Peguero is also hitting .414 (12-for-29) with runners on base since being promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on July 17.
A HOMETOWN HIT: Henry Davis’ single in the first inning Monday night was his hardest hit ball (109.9 mph) of this season…Davis has now hit safely in six of his last seven games, going 7-for-25 with a pair of doubles and three RBI.
REYNOLDS ROLLING: Bryan Reynolds walked twice in five plate appearances on Monday while also scoring a run in the first inning…Reynolds comes into today eighth in the National League this month with a .410 on-base percentage…The only seven players with a higher OBP this month are Matt Olson (.522), Freddie Freeman (.483), Ronald Acuna Jr. (.478), Keibert Ruiz (.440), Mookie Betts (.436), Michael Harris II (.431) and Francisco Lindor (.420).
HOMETOWN HELLO: Brooklyn native Joshua Palacios graduated from High School of Telecommunication Arts & Technology, where he helped the team go undefeated in 2016 while also capturing the city championship…Palacios also grew up playing for the Sayo Grays in the Parade Grounds League in Brooklyn, which is an infamous league for New York city residents and players…Palacios comes into today second among all National League players with six pinch hits, trailing only Los Angeles’ David Peralta (seven).
ANDREW ON THE BASES: Andrew McCutchen enters today with a 17-game on-base streak…That’s the third-longest active on-base streak among all National League players (Atlanta’s Ozzie Albies has the longest active streak at 23 games while Matt Olson has the second-longest active streak at 20 games)… McCutchen has the team’s longest on-base streak of 2023, reaching base safely in 20 straight from June 5 to July 1.
STARTING PITCHER – 44 – LHP BAILEY FALTER
BAILEY FALTER: The 26-year-old lefthander will make his third start with the Pirates tonight after being acquired from the Phillies on 8/1 in exchange for infielder Rodolfo Castro…Allowed four runs in 4.0 innings and had a no-decision in his last start in the team’s 7-5 win vs. Atlanta on Thursday…Went 0-7 in eight appearances (seven starts) this season with the Phillies.
VS. NEW YORK (NL):1-1 with a 3.27 ERA (11.0ip/4er) in three appearances (two starts) as a member of the Phillies (all in 2022)…He allowed one run in 6.0 innings and won a 4-1 decision in his last outing against the Mets on 8/20…His relief appearance came on 4/13, while his other start (3.0ip/5r/2er) came on 5/27.
NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the Pirates, 7-2, last night…The Mets have won back-to-back games…The Mets continue a 10-day, 10- game homestand (4-4) against the Cubs (2-1), Braves (1-3) and Pirates (1-0)…On Thursday, the Mets begin a seven-game road trip to St. Louis (four games) and Atlanta (three games).
AMAZIN’ CHICKEN CO. : At 6 p.m. today, the Mets will drop off handed breaded chicken tenders from the Amazin’ Chicken Co…The Citi Field Exclusive is located in Taste of the City on the Field Level…Our culinary team is offering Chipotle Ranch Rubbed Bucket of Chicken with Cheesy Tater Kegs…Last year, the team at Citi Field hand breaded over 98,636 chicken tenders…That’s over 37,753 buckets of chicken…Citi Field is home to a whole lot of delicious eats, so be sure to check out @ amazinmetsfood, the official food account for the New York Mets.
EAT THE VOTE: The USA Today 10 Best Reader’s Choice Voting is ongoing…Continuing to evolve with the ever-changing food and beverage landscape in New York City, Citi Field maintains its reputation as one of the top culinary destinations in the area…The ballparlk has been nominated for Best Stadium Food for USA Todays 10 West Reader’s Choice Awards…Voting is open now until Monday Augst 21 at 11:59 a.m ET…Fans can vote at https://bit.ly/3YxyDQU.
BATTLE OF THE BADGES: The Battle of the Badges charity baseball game, presented by Your Local Ford Stores, has been rescheduled for Thursday, August 17 at 7:10 p.m…Citi Field parking lots will open at 5:00 p.m. and gates will open at 5:30 p.m.
20/20 VISION: Last night, Francisco Lindor recorded his 20th steal of the season…It marked his third 20-20 season (also: 2018 and 2019)…He became the first Met to record 20 stolen bases and 20 home runs since Carlos Beltrán stole 25 bases and recorded 27 home runs in 2008.
LINSANITY: Over Francisco Lindor’s last 47 games, he is batting .297 (51- 172) with 36 runs, ninw doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 26 RBI, 26 walks, 14 steals with a .394 OBP, a .547 SLG and a .941 OPS…Lindor has stolen 20 bases in 116 games this season, exceeding his total from 2022 (16 steals in 161 games)…His career-best is 25 steals 158 games in 2018.
INVADER NIM: Brandon Nimmo belted a solo homer to center in the sixth inning last night, his 16th of the year…He is one home run shy of his career high set in 2018…He is on a six-game hitting streak, batting .391 (9-23) with two runs, one double, one home run, four walks, one RBI with a 1.047 OPS…He is batting .291 (41-141) with 11 doubles, one triple, 11 RBI, 12 walks and a .366 OBP against left-handed pitchers this year.
JEFF McHITS: Jeff McNeil is on an eight-game hitting streak, batting .367 (11-30) with six runs, one double, one home run, four RBI, two walks with a .412 OBP and a .500 SLG…In 29 games following the AllStar break, McNeil is batting .279 (31-111) with 16 runs, four doubles, one triple, two home runs, 15 RBI, six walks with a .341 OBP…He has struck out only seven times in 123 plate appearances following the All-Star break, McNeil has struck out seven times.
THE ROAD TO 100: Pete Alonso is tied for fourth in the majors and third in the NL with 88 RBI…He has previously recorded two seasons with 100 RBI (120 in 2019 and 131 in 2022)…He is seeking to become the fourth player in Mets history to record three or more seasons with 100 or more RBI…David Wright is the franchise leader with five such seasons…Carlos Beltran and Darryl Strawberry recorded three seasons each…Alonso became the first Met to record four seasons with 35 or more home runs… He is third in the majors and second in the Senior Circuit with 35 home runs.
SLIPPERY PETE: Alonso is hitting .302 (26-86) with 15 extra-base hits, 26 RBI, 14 runs, 11 walks and a 1.094 OPS in his last 24 games…He was hitting .132 (12-91) with seven extra-base hits and a .549 OPS over his previous 25 games (since his return from the IL on June 18).
IN THE CITI: The Mets are in a stretch where 19 of 25 games are at home… New York is 4-4 in that span…The Mets are 30-27 at home this season… The team’s 57 games at home are the second-fewest in the majors.
HERE’S THE CATCH: Francisco Alvarez has hit 21 home runs this season… He joins Pete Alonso (53, 2019) and Darryl Strawberry (26, 1983) as the only Mets rookies to have 20 or more home runs in a season…Alvarez leads all major league catchers with 19 home runs playing that position and is second behind Arizona’s Corbin Carroll for the rookie lead in homers.
IF YOU START ME UP: The Mets are 35-10 when the starting pitcher throws at least 6.0 innings…New York has gone 14-1 when its starter pitches 7.0+ innings and are a perfect 5-0 when the starter completes 8.0 innings.
STEAL MY SUNSHINE: New York has recorded 86 steals in 95 attempts… The team’s 90.5 percent success rate is the best in the majors…The Mets had a franchise-record run of 35 consecutive stolen bases without being caught from May 14-June 29…Overall, New York has been successful in 59 of their last 63 stolen base attempts.
SENGA GENISIS: Kodai Senga improved to 9-6 with the victory last night…He has posted a 3.30 ERA (45 ER/122.2 IP) with 59 walks and 149 strikeouts…He ranks sixth in the National League in ERA and 10th in strikeouts,…His 149 strikeouts through 22 career starts is the third-most in franchise history…Only Dwight Gooden (171) and Matt Harvey (159) have struck out more…His 149 punchouts are the fourth-most by a Japanese born player through 22 career starts…He trails Hideo Nomo (194), Yu Darvish (162) and Masahiro Tanaka (151).
STARTING PITCHER – DAVID PETERSON LHP #23
2023 STATS: 3-7, 5.61 E R A
LAST TIME OUT: Threw 3.2 innings in the Mets’ 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field…Allowed two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out five.
STEEL CITY: Tonight, Peterson will make his second career appearance and first career start against the Pirates…His sole appearance came as 2.1 innings of relief pitched on September 17, 2022 as part of a 5-1 Mets victory… Allowed one run on one hit while striking out four in that outing…This will be Peterson’s second time facing the Pirates at home.
MAKIN’ IT MAJOR: Since returning to the majors on June 27 after a stint with Syracuse (AAA), Peterson has pitched to a 2-1 record with a 2.40 ERA (8 ER/30.0 IP) in 11 games, five of which were starts.
A MINUTE IN THE MINORS: Peterson was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on April 29, was recalled on May 9, then optioned again on May 16…In his first start with Syracuse following his May 16 option, he dealt 8.0 shutout innings, allowed just two hits and struck out nine…For his effort, he as named International League Pitcher of the Week…All told, he has made seven starts for the Syracuse Mets this season…Has a 1-2 record with a 4.86 ERA (20 ER/37.0 IP).
NO PLACE LIKE NEW YORK: This season, Peterson has pitched to a 2.93 ERA (10 ER/30.2 IP) in nine home outings (five starts)…Over ten road outings (eight starts) this season, the southpaw has pitched to an 7.75 ERA (33 ER/38.1 IP).
LETHAL LEFTY: Peterson has limited lefties to a .241 (62-257) average in his career…He whiffed 32 of the 96 left-handed batters he faced last year, a 33 percent strikeout rate that ranked fourth among all left-handed pitchers to face a minimum of 90 LHB in 2022.
SLIP ‘N’ SLIDE: Peterson held batters to a .175 (24-137) average with his slider last season and 78 of his 126 strikeouts came on the pitch…His 52.0 slider-strikeout percentage was the second-highest in MLB (min. 150 PA) behind only teammate Edwin Díaz (54.7) and his 47.9 whiff percentage with the pitch was the third-highest in the majors behind only Díaz (54.7) and Seattle’s Andres Muñoz (50.8).
STRIKE ‘EM OUT, STRIKE ‘EM OUT: Peterson struck out at least five batters in 11 straight starts from June 20-September 9 last season, the second-longest streak by a left-handed starter last season…It was the sixth-longest streak by a Mets left-handed starter in franchise history…Peterson had 82 strikeouts across 58.2 innings during that span (13 G/11 GS) good for a 12.58 K/9 ratio.
