s out. Even on the road where weve struggled historically, its performing and (that) has a lot to do with those two guys.In Chicagos 9-6 victory Thursday agai

NEW YORK -- Some familiar faces are rejoining the New York Mets this weekend as they fight for a berth in the NL playoffsRight-hander Jacob deGrom is scheduled to start Sundays series finale against the Minnesota Twins in his first appearance since Sept. 1. First baseman Lucas Duda, who last played on May 20, is to be activated disabled list Saturday after recovering from a stress fracture in his lower back.DeGrom, who had been bothered by right forearm soreness, will be limited to about 75 pitches. He threw a bullpen session Friday,We know how good he can be in the daytime, Mets manager Terry Collins said. Were hoping that we can get him back up to where if we get into the postseason hes a viable option for us. We think hes going to be fine, but we dont have a crystal ball to know whats going to happen here after he throws Sunday.Right-hander Noah Syndergaard will start Mondays series opener against Atlanta on five days rest. Left-hander Steven Matz, who has not pitched since Aug. 14 because of shoulder tightness, is to throw a bullpen session Saturday.New York entered the weekend with a one-game lead for the NLs second wild card, and Collins said it is too early to make rotation decisions too far in advance. Matt Harvey had season-ending surgery in July to address Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, and rookies Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman have joined Syndergaard and Bartolo Colon in the rotation.Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said in early August that he did not expect Duda to return this season. Duda has been taking batting practice and will be integrated slowly.Well try to get him in there in the right circumstances, and, you know what, if we feel that he can help us in the lineup some time, well get him in there, Collins said.In addition, outfielder Juan Lagares was activated from the disabled list ahead of Fridays series opener against the Twins. Lagares hasnt played since July 28 because of a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery. He plans to start swinging a bat next week and will be limited to a defensive replacement role, and Collins said having him bat during the regular season was a longshot.He gives us that option of a Gold Glover to come in late in the game and go play center field, Collins said. If we get him in the game for defense, we got to hit for him, we got to hit for him.Infielder Wimer Flores, out since a home-plate collision with Atlanta catcher A.J. Pierzynski Sept. 10, said he had an injection of painkiller in his right wrist Thursday and could return soon.It doesnt feel very good right now but hopefully the next couple days it will feel better, he said. Randy Johnson Jersey . 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DENVER -- The rampaging Chicago Cubs begin a nine-game, 10-day road trip with three against the Colorado Rockies beginning Friday.Chicago, which is coming off a four-game sweep of Milwaukee, has won 18 of its past 21 games. The Cubs (77-43, 32-24 on the road) are 34 games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 27, 2008, when they were 97-63 on the next-to-last-day of the season.Kyle Hendricks, who is 11-7 with a 2.19 ERA -- the third-lowest ERA in the majors, has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his past 15 starts for Chicago, dating to May 22. In his last start Saturday against St. Louis, Hendricks allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings with no walks and 12 strikeouts but wasnt involved in the decision as the Cubs lost 8-4.Hendricks is 3-6 with a 3.43 in 10 road starts this season. The Rockies handed Hendricks his only loss in 13 games (12 starts) at Wrigley Field this season April 15 when he allowed four runs (two earned) and seven hits in six innings of Colorados 6-1 victory. In two starts at Coors Field -- both Chicago victories -- Hendricks is 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA.Left-hander Tyler Anderson, who makes his first career start against the Cubs, is 4-4 with a 3.42 ERA -- the lowest ERA for a Rockies starter through his first 12 starts in franchise history.In his last start Saturday in Philadelphia, Anderson was ejected by home plate umpire Eric Cooper for hitting Maikel Franco with a pitch to begin the fourth inning. That outing ended a streak of eight straight starts in which Anderson had pitched at least six innings.In eight starts at Coors Field, Anderson is 4-1 with a 3.04 ERA. Because the Rockies were off Thursday, Anderson will pitch with five days of rest.Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu, the first and second hitters in Colorados lineup, have been on offensive tears lately.Blackmon has a 12-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .481 in 54 at-bats with five doubles, one triple, nine homers, 15 RBI, a 1.111 slugging percentage and a 1.637 OPS. During his streak, Blackmon raised his average 23 points to .322..ddddddddddddeMahieu, who began his career in the Cubs organization and played 37 games for them in 2011, had hits in eight straight at-bats and reached base in 10 consecutive plate appearances before both streaks ended on his second at-bat Wednesday. He has hit safely in 14 of 16 games this month, going .483 in 60 at-bats with two doubles, one triple, three homers, nine RBI, a .483 on-base percentage and a 1.281 OPS. During the month, LeMahieu has raised his average 23 points to .343, one point behind National League leader Daniel Murphy of Washington.Blackmon and LeMahieu have helped the Rockies weather the losses of Trevor Story, who last played July 30, and Mark Reynolds, who last played Aug. 11, to season-ending injuries. Also, Carlos Gonzalez has started only five of the past 14 games because of an ankle sprain Aug. 3 that he later re-aggravated.Both guys have really upped their game, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Blackmon and LeMahieu. Both are getting on base at a really high rate. Theyre a big reason why our offense has performed better even with some key pieces out. Even on the road where weve struggled historically, its performing and (that) has a lot to do with those two guys.In Chicagos 9-6 victory Thursday against Milwaukee, Kris Bryant went 5-for-5 with a double, two homers and five RBI. Hes hitting .296 with 30 homers, 78 RBI and a .956 OPS. With his second five-hit game of the season, Bryant tied Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado for the National League lead in home runs.Anthony Rizzo, who went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI on Thursday, is hitting .291 with 25 homers, 86 RBI and a .956 OPS. With six weeks remaining in the regular season, Rizzo and Bryant along with Murphy are the leading contenders for the NL Most Valuable Player Award.Weve obviously put ourselves in a good position to have that chatter, Rizzo said. But weve still got to go out and play every day and do what we do. ' ' '