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Wright, Mets hoping to hold off Phillies, Braves

Aug 14, 2007 - 1:47 PM NY Mets (65-52) at Pittsburgh (49-67) 7:05 pm EDT

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- David Wright hopes he can help the New York Mets maintain their advantage in the National League East when they visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for the opener of a three-game series Tuesday.

After a sluggish start to the season, Wright has been hot recently. He is 7-for-15 (.467) with three home runs and six RBI over his previous four contests.

New York leads the NL East by three games over the Philadelphia Phillies while the Atlanta Braves sit just 3 1/2 games back.

The Mets will send Orlando Hernandez (7-4, 3.05 ERA) to the mound. Hernandez is quietly becoming New York's best pitcher this season, not losing for over a month.

The 37-year-old Cuban is 2-0 with a 2.72 ERA over his last six starts. The Mets have been victorious in each of Hernandez's outings in that span.

Hernandez allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings, but did not figure in a 4-3 win over the Braves on Wednesday.

The Pirates will counter with Ian Snell (7-10, 3.87), who has lost his last five decisions. The righthander, who had given up eight runs in his last 11 innings, has seen his ERA rise from 2.93 over his last six outings.

Pittsburgh, which has won four of its last five contests following the split of a doubleheader with the San Francisco Giants on Monday, has lost each of Snell's previous six starts.