Pittsburgh Pirates kicked off the New York Mets series with an offensive outburst on Tuesday before running into a pitching buzzsaw.
In Wednesday’s double header it turned into a long reliever or depth starter audition that didn’t go well.
In game one of the double header the Mets didn’t wait long to get to Pirates opener, Duane Underwood Jr.
The first two batters of the game reached base on a single then a double putting runners on second and third with no outs. After Underwood struck out Francisco Lindor swinging, Jeff McNeil hit a sacrifice fly to center field for a 1-0 lead.
Bryse Wilson took over in the second inning and managed to get out of the inning unscathed on a fly out after putting runners on second and third with two outs. He had a quick 11 pitch third inning but the Mets finally broke through in the fourth. A single — by former Bucco and deadline acquisition Daniel Vogelbach — and then hit by pitch were immediately followed with a three run homerun by deadline acquisition Tyler Naquin. The very next batter Eduardo Escobar hit his own shot to right center field for a 5-0 lead.
Wilson managed to pitch six innings despite the fourth inning hiccup. Wilson’s final line would include seven hits and a hit by pitch along with the four earned runs. He struck out three batters with 57 of his 77 pitches going for strikes.
The Pirates offense managed one run against Mets game one starter Chris Bassitt. Greg Allen lead off the sixth inning with a double and scored on a Tyler Heineman single.
Oneil Cruz kept his recent hot streak going with a 2-for-4 game, and bumping his OPS to 711 and just above league average.
Miguel Yajure stepped in after Bryse Wilson and completed the final two innings of the game. He allowed one hit while registering three strikeouts. It was a strong appearance for the young pitcher who has had a rough season.
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Johan Oviedo was tabbed for game two and had a difficult task ahead of him having to face Jacob deGrom.
Oviedo got through the first inning allowing only a walk, but that’s about as good as it got for him.
The Pirates offense quickly threatened in the bottom of the first before it just as quickly reversed. Cruz singled on the first pitch he saw from deGrom and then Reynolds singled to put runners on first and second. Rodolfo Castro stepped to the plate and hit into a double play with Gamel then grounding out to kill the threat.
In the second inning things began to unravel as both Oviedo and the umpire forgot where the strike zone was. Johan had two outs with a runner on first after walking the second batter. Eduardo Escobar singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. That was then followed by three walks with a wild pitch mixed in to make it 2-0 Mets with Derek Shelton removing Oviedo after his fourth walk of the inning and fifth of the game.
Eric Stout entered the game with the bases loaded giving up a two-run double letting two of his three inherited runners score for a 4-0 deficit. Stout ended up throwing 1.1 IP without allowing any of his own earned runs to score.
Zach Thompson came to the mound for the fourth inning. He gave up four hits in the inning letting three runs score for a 7-0 hole. Thompson threw three innings in total with seven hits against, three earned runs, and two strikeouts.
Seventh inning was Tyler Beede’s turn to take a stab at the Mets offense. The Mets hit two doubles to kick off the inning for an 8-0 lead with a wild pitch and then a single making it 9-0.
The eighth and nine innings were Yohan Ramirez’s to handle as the DFA of Josh VanMeter left them shorthanded in the bullpen. Ramirez gave up a double to lead off the eighth which was followed by a single for what would be the ending score of 10-0.
Jacob deGrom did what Jacob deGrom does. He pitched seven innings allowing only three hits, a walk, and struck out eight batters. Aside from the Cruz and Reynolds’ singles to lead off the game, Reynolds collected another single to go 2-for-3, and Jack Suwinski worked the only walk.
Mets bullpen held the Pirates scoreless over the final two innings.
On the bright side, the Altoona Curve are catching fire with all of their bats returned to the lineup in addition to Endy Rodriguez’s promotion.
