The Pirates face the Mets for the first time this season on Friday, when they'll kick off a three-game series at PNC Park. In recent years, the Mets have mostly been on Pirates fans' radar when the two teams have been trade partners, with the Bucs dealing Dilson Herrera and Vic Black (both of whom are now on the disabled list) for Marlon Byrd and John Buck in 2013, and two minor-leaguers for Ike Davis in 2014. This season, though, the Mets might not need to trade veterans at the deadline, as they're currently five games above .
Series preview: New York Mets not out of the woods yet, but have plenty of terrific pitching
