Mets play role of spoiler against fading Pirates

The New York Mets are on one of their best, albeit brief, runs of the season.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Pirates' playoff chances are fading, as the team has lost four straight games.

The Mets will seek a season-high fifth consecutive win when they take on the host Pirates on Saturday night in the second game of a three-game series.

New York will send Robert Stock (0-1, 1.80 ERA) to make his second start of the season, against fellow right-hander Bubba Chandler (4-8, 4.49).

With the Mets effectively out of the playoff race, they have turned their attention to identifying and evaluating potential key pieces of their future.

Rookie Carson Benge is one of them, as he had two key hits in Friday's 6-4 New York victory. Rookie starting pitcher Zac Thornton threw five scoreless innings, and rookie A.J. Ewing had three hits and scored twice.

However, the Mets have concerns about Benge, who left the game in the fourth inning with wrist soreness after making a great catch in left field on a fly ball by Ronny Simon.

X-rays were negative, but Mets interim manager Andy Green said: "We'll see how he wakes up in the morning and determine if he needs potentially more tests."

Benge is hitting .270 with 13 home runs, 46 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 112 games this season.

The veteran Stock, who is in his second stint with the Mets, will make his first career start against the Pirates. He has made two short relief appearances against them, throwing a total of 1 1/3 scoreless innings, walking one batter and hitting another with a pitch.

In his first start since being called up from Triple-A Syracuse, Stock threw five innings against the Miami Marlins last Sunday, allowing one run on three hits and striking out four. He got no run support from the Mets in a 2-0 loss.

Stock will try to keep the Pirates off the bases. They rank third in the majors in runs (592) and team batting average (.297).

The Pirates (57-61) are in last place in the National League Central but still are only 5 1/2 games out of the league's final wild-card spot. Just two weeks ago, Pittsburgh was two games over .500, sitting third in the division and just two games behind in the wild-card race.

Pittsburgh is missing multiple key regulars, including Oneil Cruz, Konnor Griffin and Ryan O'Hearn, with all on the injured list.

Cruz, who has been out for the past two months with a broken left hand, began a rehab assignment on Friday. Cruz was in the midst of a strong season when he got hurt, with an .822 OPS and 14 home runs, 44 RBIs and 21 steals in 64 games.

"Not sure on the timeline yet," Pirates manager Don Kelly said. "We're gonna take it day by day. See how he's doing. He's gonna need some at-bats. It's been two months since he's been down, so we're gonna take it day by day. And just really excited to get him back on the road to being back here in Pittsburgh with us."

Chandler will face the Mets for the first time in his career. He picked up a 4-3 win on Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers, throwing 5 2/3 innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits and five walks.

Walks continue to be a problem for Chandler, who has issued 61. Only Robbie Ray of the San Diego Padres has allowed more (62) this season.