Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets (92-55) keep on rolling, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 5-1 on Saturday night. Chris Bassitt was superb on the mound, Eduardo Escobar hit yet another home run, and the Mets have won three straight against the last-place Pirates. This comes less than a week after being swept at home by the Chicago Cubs, a bizarre string of games that sees the team still maintain a lead in the division and the magic number for clinching a playoff spot drop to four.

Coming off one of his worst starts of the season in his previous outing against the Cubs, Bassitt needed to open this start on the right foot. He accomplished that goal, allowing just one hit through the first three innings.

The same could not be said for Pirates starter Bryse Wilson. Pete Alonso led off the second inning with a double, his 60th extra-base hit of the season. Later in the frame, Escobar launched a three-run homer to give the Mets an early 3-0 lead.

Escobar has not gotten many starts against right-handed pitchers this season, but the Mets chose to ride the hot hand, and he rewarded that decision with yet another big hit. Escobar has six home runs in his last 15 games and is hitting close to .400 in the month of September.

Bassitt’s first real test came in the fourth inning when the Pirates got two runners on with one out for Ke’Bryan Hayes. Bassitt showed great resolve in preventing any real damage, forcing a flyout from Hayes and striking out Cal Mitchell to end the threat.

Bassitt found himself in another tight spot against Hayes in the sixth inning, facing the young Pirates slugger with runners on first and second with two outs. He threw a wild pitch that put both runners in scoring position. However, he buckled down and struck out Hayes to keep the Pirates off the board.

The Mets loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, and Brandon Nimmo drew a bases-loaded walk against Eric Stout to drive in the fourth run of the game for the Mets. Stout walked three of the first four batters he faced in relief of Wilson. The Mets were 77-6 this season when scoring at least four runs entering play on Saturday, so this was more than just an insurance run.

David Peterson got the ball to start the seventh inning, ending Bassitt’s day after six scoreless frames. Peterson was electric in his return to the bullpen, retiring the first six batters he faced and collecting three strikeouts.

The Mets had four batters hit by pitches on Saturday, including Jeff McNeil who was hit in back-to-back innings. The team has had 101 batters hit by pitches this season, a mark that leads the majors and is just four shy of tying the modern major league record set by the Cincinnati Reds in 2021.

Alonso drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning to tack on another run and extend the Mets’ lead to 5-0. The Mets drew eight walks in the game, including two bases-loaded walks.

Peterson stayed in the game for the ninth and gave up a leadoff home run to Rodolfo Castro, breaking up the shutout. He picked up one more out before the Mets turned to Adam Ottavino, who recorded the final two outs to secure the victory.

Player of the Game: Chris Bassitt

Bassitt has been a stalwart in the Mets’ starting rotation this season, and his performance on Saturday demonstrated what he is capable of when he is at his best. He picked up his 14th win of the season, and he has completed at least six innings in 22 of his 28 starts this season. He also struck out eight batters, setting a new career high with 163 strikeouts this season. Bassitt will have a few more starts to extend that mark and to continue lowering his already impressive 3.32 ERA.

Final line for Bassitt: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

On Deck:

The Mets will look to finish off a four-game sweep when they face off against the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. First pitch is set for 1:40pm ET, and the game will be broadcast on PIX11. The Mets will have Jacob deGrom on the mound, while the Pirates will counter with Johan Oviedo.