The Pittsburgh Pirates denied NL Central rivals St. Louis a sweep last night as they scored seven runs in the first inning alone. Runs won't come easy tonight though against the New York Mets who are turning to a seasoned veteran.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Mets hand the ball to Bartolo Colon (10-11, 4.76) who's going through a rough patch, but he's likely to look forward to this match-up. He's 4-2 with a minuscule 1.97 ERA in previous meetings with the Pirates. The Pirates will counter with J.A. Happ (4-7, 4.78 ERA) who was tagged for four runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 5-0 loss to the Cubs in his debut for the club. Seattle lost all but one of his last 12 starts for the club and he's 2-4 with a 5.98 ERA in 11 road-starts for the season.

2. Home Cookin' - The Mets own the second best home-record in baseball with a 42-18 mark. They're 52-12 in their last 64 games as a home favorite and 6-1 in Colon's last seven starts as a home favorite of -110 to -150.

3. X-Factor - Juan Uribe is 3-for-7 with a pair of doubles in his last two games and a perfect 3-for-3 with a homer in previous match-ups against Happ.

Selection: This is a play on New York Mets (8*)