Mets  1    Pirates  3

New York Mets (28-22) at Pittsburgh Pirates (23-28), 7:05 p.m.

Sports Network | June 2, 2009

(Sports Network) - The New York Mets let a game slip away on Monday. With Johan Santana on the mound, the chances of a repeat performance seem far less likely.

Santana aims for a fourth consecutive winning start when he toes the rubber for New York in tonight's second test of a four-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates from PNC Park.

The Mets appeared on their way to victory in Monday's series opener, but the team's usually reliable bullpen imploded as the Pirates rallied for an 8-5 decision. Pittsburgh scored five times in the bottom of the eighth inning to erase a 5-3 deficit, with Delwyn Young's pinch-hit single driving home the go- ahead run.

Andy LaRoche and Jack Wilson also delivered RBI singles during the eighth- inning uprising. LaRoche also had a two-run triple for Pittsburgh, which had lost four of its last five games entering Monday's tilt.

Wilson finished 3-for-4 on the evening, while Adam LaRoche also collected three hits in the win.

"It was a great win, the guys battled," said Pittsburgh manager John Russell. "We didn't have much offense early, but I was pretty proud of the way they bounced back."

Wilson Valdez went 2-for-4 with three RBI and Jeremy Reed had two hits and two runs scored in the loss, only the third in the past 10 games for New York.

Mets reliever J.J. Putz (1-4) was charged with four of the five runs allowed in the fateful eighth inning and failed to record an out, surrendering four hits and issuing one walk. Starter Livan Hernandez worked the first 5 2/3 frames and gave up three runs on seven hits.

"Overall, I felt good and felt like I was pounding the (strike) zone," Putz said. "They were just hit in the right spot, which makes it a lot more frustrating."

New York will try to even things up tonight behind Santana, the National League's co-leader with seven wins thus far in 2009. The standout southpaw is also tied for tops among NL pitchers with 86 strikeouts after racking up 11 K's in last Wednesday's 7-4 triumph over Washington.

Santana did walk a season-high six batters in six innings against the Nationals, but kept the damage to three runs in winning his third straight start. The effort raised his season earned run average to 1.77, still the best mark in the Senior Circuit at the moment.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner is 2-0 with a stellar 1.19 earned run average in four lifetime appearances (3 starts) against the Pirates. Both of those wins came last season, with Santana yielding just two runs and five hits in 14 2/3 innings of work over those two games.

Pittsburgh counters with fellow lefty Zach Duke, who's putting together a nice bounce-back season after enduring a 5-14 campaign a year ago. The 26-year-old has compiled a 5-4 record and an impressive 2.75 ERA through his 10 starts and has allowed two earned runs or less on seven occasions this year.

Duke was solid once again this past Wednesday, when he held the Chicago Cubs to two runs in a seven-inning no-decision at Wrigley Field. He permitted just two runs over eight frames in his previous start, although he wound up on the losing end of a 2-0 decision to the White Sox on May 22.

The native Texan is 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA over five career starts against the Mets, but struggled in a pair of matchups with them last season. Duke had a loss and a no-decision versus New York in 2008 and was reached for 11 runs (9 earned) and four homers in just 12 innings pitched.

New York swept a three-game series from Pittsburgh at Citi Field last month and is 6-2 over the last eight meetings between the teams. In their only visit to the Steel City in 2008, the Mets won three of four against the Pirates last August.