The Pirates continue their series against the New York Mets at Citi Field Tuesday night after losing their Monday-night series opener 7-3.
The big news tonight is that catcher Ryan Doumit will miss "more than a month" with a broken ankle. Dusty Brown, who replaced Doumit on the roster earlier this week, will start on Tuesday, along with infielder Josh Harrison, who replaced Steve Pearce (calf). With Pearce and Pedro Alvarez currently out and with Brandon Wood (predictably) struggling, Harrison should get a fair number of at-bats to show what he can do. The same probably cannot be said of Brown, as Chris Snyder will receive most of the playing time at catcher. Doumit and Snyder had formed an effective tandem so far this season, but now Snyder will probably have to carry most of the weight on his own, since Brown, a minor-league journeyman, is unlikely to hit much.
James McDonald will start Tuesday night for the Pirates, with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey going for the Mets. McDonald appears to have his season back on track after an early injury, as he has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts.