New York Mets (48-35, second in the NL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (33-50, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Paul Blackburn (0-2, 6.62 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 13 strikeouts); Pirates: Bailey Falter (6-3, 3.59 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 51 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mets -144, Pirates +122; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates bring a 1-0 advantage into the next game of the series against the New York Mets.

Pittsburgh has gone 21-21 at home and 33-50 overall. The Pirates are 12-34 in games when they have allowed at least one home run.

New York has a 48-35 record overall and a 19-23 record in road games. The Mets have a 22-8 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.

The matchup Saturday is the fifth meeting between these teams this season. The season series is tied 2-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz has 10 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs for the Pirates. Bryan Reynolds is 11 for 39 with five doubles, a home run and three RBIs over the past 10 games.

Juan Soto has 14 doubles and 20 home runs for the Mets. Brandon Nimmo is 12 for 36 with two doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 4-6, .259 batting average, 4.86 ERA, outscored by six runs

Mets: 3-7, .228 batting average, 5.61 ERA, outscored by 22 runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Ryan Borucki: 15-Day IL (back), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (thumb), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Mets: Griffin Canning: 60-Day IL (achilles), Jesse Winker: 60-Day IL (side), Jose Siri: 60-Day IL (shin), Max Kranick: 15-Day IL (elbow), Tylor Megill: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kodai Senga: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Brooks Raley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Danny Young: 60-Day IL (elbow), A.J. Minter: 60-Day IL (lat), Sean Manaea: 60-Day IL (oblique), Nick Madrigal: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Drew Smith: 60-Day IL (elbow), Christian Scott: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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

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