NEW YORK METS

at PITTSBURGH PIRATES

First pitch: Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. ET
Line: New York -127, Pittsburgh +117, Total: 7.5

Jacob deGrom and the Mets take on Juan Nicasio and the Pirates at PNC Park in the second game of a doubleheader.

Monday’s Mets-Pirates series opener was postponed due to rain, so the two clubs will kick off their three-game series with a traditional doubleheader on Tuesday. Game 1 is at 4:05 p.m., and Game 2 is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. On the mound for the Mets in the second game will be RHP Jacob deGrom (3-1 2.62 ERA, 47 SO, 16 BB, 4 HR in 55 IP). The All-Star and former Rookie of the Year is coming off consecutive seven-inning, one-run outings, and his 10 strikeouts in his last start against the White Sox were a season high. In nine starts this season, deGrom has only allowed more than two earned runs three times. He’ll be opposed by Pirates RHP Juan Nicasio (4-4, 4.75 ERA, 51 SO, 21 BB, 8 HR in 53 IP). The 29-year-old has allowed at least three earned runs in seven of his 10 starts this season. The Pirates have owned the Mets in recent years. Coming into Tuesday, Pittsburgh has gone 10-3 against New York since 2014, including a 6-1 mark at PNC Park. The Mets have gone 16-12 away from Citi Field, and the Pirates are 16-11 at home (entering play on Tuesday).

The Mets have been bit hard by the injury bug of late, as 3B David Wright, 1B Lucas Duda and C Travis d’Arnaud are all on the disabled list. LF Yoenis Cespedes was scratched from the lineup this past Saturday, but he pinch-hit on Sunday and was in Terry Collins’ lineup on Monday before the game was postponed. 2B Neil Walker, returning to Pittsburgh for the first time since being traded by the Pirates in the offseason, has gone 3-for-10 against Nicasio with a double and a triple. 1B James Loney, who was recently acquired by general manager Sandy Alderson to fill in for Duda, is 2-for-11 against him with a double. SS Asdrubal Cabrera is 2-for-6 with a homer against the former Rockies hurler, and C Rene Rivera—playing in d’Arnaud’s absence—is 2-for-4 against him with a homer and a double. RF Curtis Granderson is 1-for-7 against Nicasio and CF Juan Lagares is 2-for-5 against him with a double and a triple. Nicasio hasn’t started against the Mets since 2014, though he did face them out of the bullpen with the Dodgers last season. In two career starts against the Mets, Nicasio is 2-0 with an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.000. DeGrom is 1-1 with a 3.37 ERA on the road this season.

The Pirates haven’t seen much of deGrom. Only three players on Clint Hurdle’s roster—2B Josh Harrison, CF Andrew McCutchen and SS Jordy Mercer—have as many as five at-bats again him. Harrison is 0-for-5 against deGrom with three strikeouts, McCutchen is 3-for-5 with a walk and Mercer is 1-for-5 with two RBIs. DeGrom has pitched brilliantly in his two career starts against the Pirates, posting a 1.35 ERA and a 1.349 WHIP, but he didn’t factor in either of those decisions. In May of 2014, deGrom tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Pirates, and a month later he allowed two runs against them in 6 2/3 frames. The Pirates won both of those games. Nicasio has struggled on the road this season, but he’s pitched very well at home, going 4-1 with a 2.54 ERA at PNC Park.