Cole v Syndergaard; Lineup & Notes

Today's Game: Gerrit Cole (5-2, 2.40) faces off against Noah Syndergaard (1-1, 3.18), a battle of good, young arms. Cole hasn't had much luck in limited action against the Metropolitans; he's 0-2 with an 8.00 ERA in two career starts. They've jumped him early, so he might want to mix in something other than the old #1 the first time around the lineup. For NY's top young gun, Syndergaard, it's a big outing. He replaced an injured Dillon Gee in the rotation, and Gee is due back for the next start, so it may be his last chance to make an impression for a while. He's had two strong outings, not running into trouble until the sixth inning both times. The game starts at 7:05 and is carried by Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

No big surprises - Kang is still in; no reason to move him. Stew is catching as the Bucs are being conservative with Fran, a smart move.

The Mets have been a bit offensively challenged lately. New York has scored three runs or fewer in 16 of its last 23 games. Overall the Mets have scored three or fewer runs 23 times this season, tied for the most in the majors, and are 7-16 when held to three scores or less. (The Bucs, btw, are a miserable 2-17 when scoring three or fewer). The Mets are also 7-12 on the road, so this should be a good matchup for the struggling Bucs

• Hitting streaks: Josh Harrison is at eight games; Starling Marte seven games, and Jung-Ho Kang four games. On the other hand, Gregory Polanco is hitless in his last six games and 19 at-bats.
• Jared Hughes is tied for the NL lead in appearances with 22; Tony Watson is one spot behind with 21 outings.
• The Pirates have lost 6-of-7.
• And we traded for Ike: Lucas Duda has hit .372 in his last 12 games and has a 10-game hitting streak at Pittsburgh.
• 22 year old Dovydas Neverkauskas, the Bucco prospect from Lithuania, is highlighted in a MiLB piece by Ashley Marshall. 
• Barry Bonds will be honored on September 19th at the 2015 GIBSON Awards and Negro League Gala hosted by the Josh Gibson Foundation. He'll be presented with the 2015 Josh Gibson Lifetime Legacy Award. 
• Justin Morneau can't shake the concussion curse.
• Chris Lander of Cut 4 lists some archaic rules of baseball; the pioneers played a different game in many ways.