Game 66 of 162
Pirates 2 - Mets 1 (PNC Park, Pittsburgh)
Mets record: 31-35
Mets streak: Lost 1
WP – Mitch Keller (8-2)
LP – Carlos Carrasco (2-3)
SV – David Bednar (14)
Seat on the Korner
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Keller dominated an inept Mets lineup, allowing one run and two hits over seven innings to win his eighth game of the season. He struck out seven, walked two and retired the final 10 batters he faced. The only blow landed by the Mets against Keller was Jeff McNeil’s solo home run to right in the 4th inning.
Need to Know
*The Mets concluded a 1-5 road trip with a 2-1 loss in Pittsburgh.
*New York looked lifeless offensively, managing only three hits, including McNeil’s third home run of the season and first since May 1.
*Tommy Pham gave the Mets a chance in the 9th inning, ripping a one-out double to left-center against Pirates closer David Bednar. But Brett Baty popped weakly to left and Mark Canha flied out to center to end the game.
*Omar Narvaez batted eighth and left four men on base his first two at-bats. He struck out with runners at 2nd and 3rd in the 2nd inning and grounded out weakly with runners at 1st and 2nd in the 4th inning. Narvaez was 0-for-3 Sunday.
*Daniel Vogelbach was benched against another right-handed starter. Francisco Alvarez was the Mets DH on Sunday, one day after Francisco Lindor was the DH with a righty on the mound. The left-handed hitting Vogelbach is batting .203 with an inconceivable .297 slugging percentage this season.
*Pirates DH Andrew McCutchen picked up his 2,000th MLB hit with a leadoff single in the 1st inning. Ironically, his first MLB hit was against the Mets, off Mike Pelfrey 14 years ago.
*After a day off Monday, the Mets host the Yankees in a two-game Subway Series set at Citi Field. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander start in the series for the Mets.
Turning Point
After McNeil gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the top of the 4th inning, Carlos Carrasco immediately coughed it up and then some in the bottom half. Jack Suwinski crushed one of the foul pole in right to tie the game. One out later, Carrasco allowed a double to right by Ji Hwan Bae, who moved to third on a wild pitch. Carrasco then gave up an RBI single to Tucupita Mercano that proved to be the difference in the game.
3 Keys
The Mets have not played good baseball this season. Period. But the Mets have really struggled on the road, where they’ve played an MLB-high 39 games. They are 16-23 on the road and have not won a series away from Citi Field since taking 2-of-3 against the Dodgers on April 17-19. Since then, the Mets have lost six road series and split two.
Josh Walker impressed with 1.1 innings of shutout relief. The lefthander replaced Carrasco and struck out a dangerous left-handed hitter in Suwinski with runners on 2nd and 3rd and two outs in the 5th inning. After giving up a leadoff single in the 6th, Walker got Bae to ground into a double play before Marcano flied to center. The 28-year-old was a 37th-round pick by the Mets in 2017 and has now pitched three games in the majors, each this season, without allowing a run. A rare feel-good story for the Mets in 2023.
In the top of the 8th inning, down by one, Buck Showalter had Luis Guillorme pinch hit for the struggling Mark Vientos to lead off against reliever Dauri Moreta. Showalter likely was hoping for the left-swinging Guillorme to scratch out a hit or a walk against the right-handed pitcher and set the table for the top of the Mets order. But with New York doing nothing offensively, perhaps switch-hitter Eduardo Escobar was the better option here since he’s a better hitter and has more power than Guillorme, who’s never a threat offensively. Guillorme ended up being called out on a two-strike clock violation.
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