The Mets took an early lead but allowed the final four runs of the game in a 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh at Citi Field on Saturday afternoon.
Here are the key takeaways…
1. In the top of the first, Brandon Nimmo submitted a Catch of the Year candidate, reaching over the centerfield wall to rob Bryan Reynolds of a home run. In the bottom, he singled to start the inning and scored the Mets’ first run on a single by Kevin Pillar.
2. Marcus Stroman (5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 K, 1 HR) retired the first nine Pirates on only 29 pitches but ran into trouble in the fourth inning. Adam Frazier led it off with a single. Two batters later it was first and third with one out. Stroman K’d Ben Gamel to make it two outs, but John Nogowski‘s double down the line drove in two to make it 2-1 Pittsburgh.
Stroman has now failed to get past the fifth inning in four straight starts.
3. The Pirates’ lead didn’t last long — Jonathan Villar hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, his third in two games — but they got it right back when Tyler Anderson, Pittsburgh’s starter, tagged Stroman for his own solo homer in the top of the fifth. He entered the game with 13 career hits and one home run.
4. Pittsburgh added two more runs in the sixth to make it 5-2 when Bryan Reynolds took Trevor May deep with one on. The homer for Reynolds snapped a scoreless innings streak of 10 for May.
5. After Villar’s home run in the fourth, the Mets’ bats went quiet, managing only two singles and a 1-2-3 seventh. They finished the game with seven hits overall and only one extra-base hit.
6. The defeat for the Mets Saturday afternoon was just the 10th time they’ve lost this year when scoring first. They’re now 35-10 in such circumstances.
What’s next
The Mets and Pirates will play the second game of their single-admission doubleheader on Saturday.
Tylor Megill is set to face Max Kranick in Game 2.