Brubaker expected to start as Pirates host the Mets

Updated Jul. 18, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

New York Mets (47-42, first in the NL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (36-56, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Sunday, 1:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Taijuan Walker (7-3, 2.50 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 89 strikeouts) Pirates: JT Brubaker (4-9, 4.47 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 88 strikeouts)

LINE: Pirates +125, Mets -145; over/under is even

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets travel to play the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

The Pirates are 21-25 on their home turf. The Pittsburgh pitching staff averages 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings, Tyler Anderson leads them with a mark of 7.4.

The Mets have gone 19-28 away from home. New York has a collective on-base percentage of .308, led by Pete Alonso with a mark of .330.

The Pirates won the last meeting 9-7. Clay Holmes earned his third victory and Jacob Stallings went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs for Pittsburgh. Edwin Diaz registered his fourth loss for New York.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 17 home runs and is slugging .522.

Alonso leads the Mets with 17 home runs and is batting .252.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 7-3, .303 batting average, 4.93 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

Mets: 4-6, .229 batting average, 5.03 ERA, outscored by three runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Duane Underwood Jr.: (side), Jose Soriano: (elbow), Luis Oviedo: (quad), Sam Howard: (oblique), Blake Cederlind: (elbow), Trevor Cahill: (calf), Steven Brault: (lat strain), Ka'ai Tom: (back), Colin Moran: (wrist), Erik Gonzalez: (side).

Mets: Jordan Yamamoto: (shoulder), Noah Syndergaard: (elbow), Sean Reid-Foley: (elbow), David Peterson: (side), Corey Oswalt: (knee), Joey Lucchesi: (elbow), Tommy Hunter: (back), Robert Gsellman: (lat strain), Jacob deGrom: (forearm), Carlos Carrasco: (hamstring), Dellin Betances: (shoulder), Jose Martinez: (knee), Francisco Lindor: (oblique).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.