Pirates send Mets to 7th straight loss with 14-7 romp
Ke'Bryan Hayes tied career highs with five hits and four RBIs and the Pittsburgh Pirates drilled the mistake-prone New York Mets 14-7 on Friday night.
The Pirates bounced back from a series loss to lowly Oakland by jumping on Tylor Megill (5-4) early to send the reeling Mets to their seventh straight loss.
Hayes had a two-run single in the third against Megill and followed with a two-run double in the fifth off reliever Zach Muckenhirn while extending his hitting streak to eight games. The Pittsburgh third baseman is hitting .558 (19 of 34) with 11 RBIs during the streak, which began when he was briefly dropped to seventh in the order with his batting average languishing at .221.
Jack Suwinski went 3 for 4 with his 12th home run of the season. Carlos Santana had two hits, including his fourth home run. Josh Palacios also had two hits for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen singled in the third inning for his 1,999th career hit.
Rich Hill (6-5) worked seven innings for his second straight victory. The 43-year-old Hill gave up two runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts in his longest outing of the season.
Francisco Lindor hit his 12th home run of the season for New York. Starling Marte singled twice against the team he spent the first eight years of his career with (2012-19) but couldn't stop the Mets' freefall.
New York's seven-game slide is its longest since it dropped seven straight in June 2019.
Mets manager Buck Showalter tried to stress the positive after the team put Pete Alonso, whose 22 home runs lead the majors, on the injured list Friday because of a bone bruise and a sprain in his left wrist. Showalter pointed out Alonso's injury could have been worse and pointed to the first baseman's 3-to-4-week absence as a chance for other players to make an impact.
The early returns were not encouraging. New York essentially gave the game away during a sloppy sequence in the third that allowed the Pirates to take control.
Lindor mishandled a routine grounder at shortstop with one out, turning a potential double play into runners on first and second. Suwinski walked to load the bases and Hayes sent a sharp single to left to score two. Ji Hwan Bae followed by dropping a bunt down the third-base line that New York's Eduardo Escobar threw into the right-field corner. Hayes and Suwinski scored easily while Bae raced all the way to third to make it 7-2.
Megill stayed in to pitch into the fourth but was chased after McCutchen walked and Santana singled with two out. Megill gave up nine runs, seven earned, on eight hits with three walks and a strikeout as his ERA rose from 4.40 to 5.14 after the Pirates extended the lead to 10-2 by jumping on Muckenhirn.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Vince Velasquez underwent surgery to repair a ligament in his right elbow on Wednesday and is out for the season. Velasquez, who had Tommy John surgery in 2010, is expected to be out 11-to-12 months. Velasquez initially tweaked the elbow on May 4 and spent three weeks on the injured list but lasted just three innings in his next start against Seattle on May 27.
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday, with Pittsburgh's Johan Oviedo (3-4, 4.29 ERA) set to face Kodai Senga (5-3, 3.75).
