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Pirates-Mets Preview

May 8, 2009 - 3:39 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Pittsburgh (12-15) at New York (13-13), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The New York Mets have gotten outstanding starting pitching during their longest winning streak of the season. Now it's up to 22-year-old Jonathon Niese to continue that momentum.

Winners of four straight, the Mets send Niese to the mound to face the Pittsburgh Pirates and their struggling lineup Friday night in the opener of a three-game series.

New York (14-13) is coming off two victories over NL East rival Philadelphia, winning 7-5 on Thursday night to move above .500 for the first time since it was 3-2. The Mets are within a half-game of the Phillies for first place.

New York's starting pitchers have powered the team's season-high run, earning wins in all four games and posting a 2.39 ERA. Niese will get his chance to extend the win streak in place of Oliver Perez (knee), who went on the 15-day disabled list Thursday.

Niese was called up from Triple-A Buffalo, where he was 0-2 with a 6.55 ERA in five starts. His promotion keeps 40-year-old rookie Ken Takahashi in the bullpen.

The Mets originally said Takahashi would start Friday.

"It keeps the bullpen in order," general manager Omar Minaya said. "By having Takahashi in the bullpen, it keeps everybody in their set role."

Niese, one of New York's top pitching prospects, was 1-1 with a 7.07 ERA in three September starts with the Mets last year. This will be the left-hander's first appearance against the Pirates.

New York is hoping for some quality innings from Niese so it can hand the game over to its strong bullpen. Mets relievers have a 2.87 ERA and a .239 opponents' batting average.

Francisco Rodriguez saved his fourth straight game Thursday, improving to 9 for 9 this season and lowering his ERA to 1.32 ERA.

Opposing pitchers have had little trouble against the Pirates (12-16) in recent weeks. Pittsburgh has lost five straight and nine of 10, getting shut out three times and scoring two runs twice in that span.

Pirates manager John Russell sat many of his starters in a 5-2 loss to St. Louis on Thursday, fielding a lineup that entered the game with seven homers.

"We changed things up a little, but we still didn't score any runs," Russell said.

Pittsburgh catcher Robinzon Diaz was one of the few bright spots, hitting his first career home run.

Pirates pitchers, meanwhile, have allowed a homer in 10 of the last 11 games, with opponents totaling 14 in that span.

Jeff Karstens (1-1, 5.85), who's 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA in his last two outings, will take the mound Friday. The right-hander gave up five runs and six hits in five innings as Pittsburgh lost 5-0 to Cincinnati on Sunday.

Karstens' first start against the Mets came Aug. 17, when he suffered a 4-0 defeat after allowing four runs and nine hits in six innings.

He'll be facing a Mets lineup coming off one of its best games of the season. Carlos Beltran and David Wright each hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Jose Reyes added a solo shot in the second.

Wright had three hits to raise his average to .314. The All-Star third baseman, though, has just two home runs in 110 at-bats versus the Pirates and is batting .264 in 29 games against them.

New York went 4-3 against Pittsburgh last season.