A couple of teams looking for wins meet this weekend when the New York Mets visit the Pittsburgh Pirates.
New York has lost a season-high six games in a row after being swept at Atlanta, including a 13-10, 10-inning defeat on Thursday.
New York was up 9-2 Thursday, including Brandon Nimmo’s first career grand slam, but could not hold on. According to SNY, it’s the first time in club history that the Mets have dropped three games in a row after leading by at least three in each.
“There’s a lot of opportunities to fold the tent, and these guys aren’t going to do that,” New York manager Buck Showalter said.
Pittsburgh seemed to have recaptured the swagger and winning ways it had in April over the final couple days of May and the first few days of June.
Then came a series against the worst team in baseball, Oakland. The Pirates had to scramble Monday to win the series opener 5-4 for their sixth straight win.
The bottom fell out as the Athletics won the final two games, 11-2 and 9-5.
“We continue to play hard,” Pirates second baseman Rodolfo Castro said. “And (disappointing results are) part of baseball. We go out there every day and do our best. Oakland played some good baseball.”
It’s unclear whether the Mets will have slugger Pete Alonso. He left Wednesday’s game after getting hit by a pitch on his left wrist; he did not play Thursday.
While Showalter said initial X-rays showed no break, the team sent Alonso back to New York for an MRI and further tests.
In the series opener Friday, New York right-hander Tylor Megill (5-3, 4.40 ERA) is scheduled to start opposite Pittsburgh left-hander Rich Hill (5-5, 4.41).
On Saturday, Megill gave up one run and five hits over 5 1/3 innings against Toronto and did not get a decision because of a lack of run support in a 2-1 loss.
“He had a lot of counts that got away from him a little and made him get his pitch count up,” Showalter said, but he added that Megill was “outstanding.”
That was at home, where Megill has been sharp. On the road, he is 2-2 with a 6.08 ERA in six starts. Against Pittsburgh, Megill is 0-0 with an 0.93 ERA in two career starts.
Hill is coming off his best game as a Pirate. He gave up one run in a season-high 6 2/3 innings Sunday and got the win in a 2-1 game against St. Louis.
“He went out and executed pitches,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said. “He kept them off balance the entire day.”
Against the Mets, Hill is 2-2 with a 6.69 ERA in nine career games, seven starts. He has not faced them since 2019, when he was with the Dodgers.
–Field Level Media
