The Pirates are among MLB’s worst teams, but with their great equalizer on the mound for six innings Monday night they stood a chance against the Mets.
Then Paul Skenes departed.
And the Mets, as has been their modus operandi this season, rallied in the late innings against an underwhelming bullpen.
The Mets scored twice in the seventh and survived a scare in the ninth before winning 4-3 on Pete Alonso’s walk-off sacrifice fly against David Bednar.
Francisco Lindor began the winning rally by reaching on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s fielding error in the ninth before Juan Soto singled him to third. Alonso’s fly ball to right field ended it.
“We have got guys who can drive the ball out of the yard, guys that can put up some good numbers offensively and hit the ball a long way,” Alonso said. “But at the end of the day, our identity is we’re just a scrappy team. We fight to the last out, and that is who we are.”
This one included a little bit of everything for the Mets (27-15), including Brandon Nimmo reaching to rob Joey Bart of a leadoff homer in the eighth.
Luisangel Acuña’s dash from second to home in the seventh on Alonso’s grounder off third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes’ glove was the baserunning play of the night.
“I think we did a lot of good things today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We also made a couple of mistakes.”
Lindor’s fielding error had helped the Pirates tie it 3-3 in the ninth after Huascar Brazobán (with Edwin Díaz unavailable because of recent usage) allowed a leadoff single. Hayes’ shot off Acuña’s glove at third base brought in the run before Brazobán got Bryan Reynolds to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Skenes, last season’s National League Rookie of the Year, allowed one run over six innings and departed at 92 pitches, after the Pirates went ahead 2-1.
“We had some really good at-bats [against Skenes] and we created traffic,” Mendoza said. “Then you have got to get the big one. That is what it’s going to take to beat guys like that. You create traffic and hope someone clips him.”
The Mets tied it against lefty Caleb Ferguson in the seventh before Acuña — picking up the signal from third base coach Mike Sarbaugh — raced home from second on Alonso’s shot off the third baseman Hayes’ glove. Acuña narrowly averted Bart’s tag at the plate, reaching in with his hand.
“That was the intention there,” Acuña said through an interpreter. “There are some times where I will slide at home and the catcher will block the plate and I will hurt my wrist, so I was just trying to tap the base.”
Nimmo saved a run in the eighth, reaching above the left-field fence to steal a homer from Bart.
“That was obviously an insane catch,” Alonso said.
David Peterson nearly matched Skenes’ sharp performance by allowing two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks over six-plus innings.
The lefty said he savored the matchup with Skenes.
“I think it’s always fun when you go up against someone’s best and you get in a pitcher’s dual,” Peterson said. “It’s fun when you are trading blows like that and the offenses are grinding.”
Peterson survived two walks in the first inning before allowing a homer to Kiner-Falefa leading off the second.
Jeff McNeil stroked an RBI double in the fourth that tied it 1-1. Nimmo doubled leading off the inning before McNeil delivered against Skenes with one out.
But Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty were retired in succession to end the threat.
Peterson was removed after walking Triolo to start the seventh.
José Buttó was charged for a disengagement violation that moved Triolo to third and after Hayes walked, Reynolds’ RBI fielder’s choice gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
Ferguson drilled Tyrone Taylor leading off the bottom of the inning. Taylor stole second and reached third on Acuña’s infield single. Juan Soto’s ground out tied it 2-2.
Alonso’s single off Hayes’ glove against Colin Holderman gave Acuña the runway he needed to score the go-ahead run from second.
