Backup catcher Chris Stewart led off the Pittsburgh 10th with a single and was pulled for pinch-runner Starling Marte, out of the starting lineup because of a bruised left hand. Blanton pitched three innings, striking out six.
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Six relievers combined for 7 2/3 scoreless innings for Pittsburgh. Gilmartin’s record moved to 1-1 with the loss.
Mets center fielder Yoenis Cespedes unleashed one of the best throws this season, nailing Rodriguez when he tried for a triple with one out in the ninth.
Cespedes corralled the ball on the edge of the warning track in left center field and, as he started to fall backward, let loose with a ideal, one-hop peg.
Consider this one alone: Charlie Morton was superb until three runs in the seventh, when the Mets rallied to tie, 3-3, on two home runs.
The Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run homer by third baseman Aramis Ramirez.
Gregory Polanco made it 3-0 in favor of Pittsburgh in the third when he hit a 370 foot blast to deep right off Niese. The Pirates have won seven straight games when scoring more than three runs. They scored 3.4 runs per game prior to that.
Colon gave up five hits and struck out seven.
Houston’s Dallas Keuchel struck out eight in seven solid innings to steer the Astros past Detroit 5-1. Melancon then recorded the next two outs without issue.
The Pirates might need every last one of the extra home runs in the second half with the pitching staff scuffling. The Pirates claimed their fourth victory in as many meetings with the Mets this season and 13th in 17 encounters with a 3-2 triumph in 10 innings on Friday.
“Yeah, it’s heartbreaking”, said Jon Niese, who delivered his 12th quality start in the last 13 tries. Pittsburgh has won 14 of its last 20 games to maintain its 1 1/2-game lead over the surging Chicago Cubs for the top wild card in the National League. Carlos Beltran, who hit a big home run Friday night at Rogers Centre, and Mark Teixeira connected for solo shots to back Tanaka (9-5).
Terry Collins was singing something akin to “Can’t Buy Me Runs” in the moments after the Mets’ frustrating 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh in 14 innings Saturday night, which would have been appropriate considering it was the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ famous gig at Shea.
At the current pace, Pittsburgh will smash about 83 home runs in the second half of the season, which is 74 games.
He might not be your prototypical strikeout closer, but batters are hitting just.
He mowed down the Colorado Rockies in his last turn, allowing only four hits over eight innings, and limited Miami to two hits in seven scoreless frames on August 5. “Nothing going on for six innings, then things got a little complicated for him”. A one-out double by Francisco Lindor in the sixth was the only hit Duffey (1-1) permitted before leaving at the end of the inning.
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The Mets fell to 0-4 this season against the Pirates and 9-18 against the NL Central. 263 with 11 homers and 39 RBIs in 75 video games.
