1. Jeff McNeil – RF
2. Michael Conforto – CF
3. Pete Alonso – 1B
4. Robinson Canó – 2B
5. Wilson Ramos – C
6. Todd Frazier – 3B
7. J.D. Davis – LF
8. Amed Rosario – SS
9. Steven Matz – LHP

The Mets have silently been on a roll, winning 3 out of the last 4 series and taking the opener on Friday night against the Pirates. If the Mets end up taking tonight’s contest as well, it’ll be positive note on 4 of the last 5 series.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have right hander Trevor Williams taking the hill. Williams is 3-3 with a 4.96 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP and has 68 strikeouts in 81.2 innings pitched. In his last seven games however, Williams is 2-2 with an ERA of 6.34 in 38.1 innings.

The Mets will send someone to the mound that hasn’t actually been rumored to be on the trading block, so far. While there may not be scouts from other teams watching Matz tonight, the Mets staff surely will. The lefty is coming off of two performances where in the first one, he threw 68 pitches and 88 pitches in the second.

If all goes well tonight, I expect Matz to be in around the 95-100 pitch range going into his third start after the All-Star break. Matz is currently 5-6 with an ERA of 4.75, a 1.46 WHIP, to go along with 86 strikeouts in 91.0 innings. The New York native is 0-2 in his last seven games and owns a 7.25 ERA.

It’ll be important for Matz to get ahead on the count and work quick against the Pirates tonight. While Matz hasn’t been great as of recent, this is the perfect time for him to end his slump as well as help the Mets turn around in the second half.