The Mets‘ brief two-game winning streak came to an end as they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 on Tuesday night at Citi Field.
Here are some takeaways…
– After scoring in each of the first six innings on Monday night, the Mets got off to a hot start in this one as well. Brandon Nimmo jumped on a middle-middle cutter and crushed a solo homer leading off the bottom of the first, again giving New York an early lead. The red-hot outfielder is now riding a seven-game hitting streak and he’s hitting .423 with a .500 OBP and 1.192 OPS over that span. His 17th homer of the year ties his career-high which he set back in 2018.
– David Peterson wasn’t able to hold onto that lead for long though, as he allowed a leadoff homer of his own to Liover Peguero in the second, quickly evening things at one. The lefty, who was having trouble throwing strikes, issued a pair of walks in the frame but was able to strikeout Bryan Reynolds to escape without further damage.
Peterson issued two more walks and allowed an infield single, which deflected off his glove, loading the bases for Pittsburgh in the third. After a lengthy discussion with Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor at the mound, he was able to bare down and ended the threat with a pair of strikeouts.
The southpaw came back out for the fourth and issued another leadoff walk. After retiring the next two batters, Buck Showalter turned to the pen, and Jose Butto came on and struck out Andrew McCutchen to end the inning. After showing some positive signs his last few outings, Peterson struggled mightily tonight. He threw 91 pitches (48 strikes) over just 3.2 innings and issued a season-high six walks.
Butto remained on and struck out two more batters in the first clean inning of the night. The Pirates put runners on the corners from two walks and a stolen base in the sixth, but the righty got Reynolds to fly out, escaping a threat of his own.
The Mets’ problems throwing strikes finally blew up in their face in the seventh though, as two more walks and a hit loaded the bases and brought Butto’s night to an end. Grant Hartwig entered and he didn’t fare much better, walking the first batter he faced on four pitches, forcing in the go-ahead run.
The righty then hit a batter and threw a wild pitch, bringing in two more runs before he even threw a strike. A few pitches later, Jason Delay lined a two-run double to right-center, and then Reynolds lined a triple to shallow center, capping off the six-run inning with just three hits. Hartwig was boo’d off the mound after recording just two outs.
– The Mets’ offense, which had been relatively lifeless after the first inning, finally showed some signs of life down six runs in the bottom half of the inning. DJ Stewart (pinch hit two-run shot) and Jonathan Arauz (solo homer) went back-to-back to make it a 7-4 ballgame.
– The late comeback attempt was short-lived though, as former Met Colin Holderman and All-Star closer David Bednar put up a zero in the eighth and ninth (respectively), securing the win and snapping New York’s brief winning streak.
Highlights
What’s next
The Mets conclude their 10-game homestand with the rubber match of this three-game set with the Pirates at 1:10 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.
Tylor Megill (6-6, 5.64 ERA) will take the ball for New York against right-hander Johan Oviedo (6-12, 4.42 ERA) on SNY.