The New York Mets lost their second straight game to the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 4-2 tonight in front of a packed house at PNC Park.
The Mets actually got on the board first, scoring a run in the fourth inning on a walk by Marlon Byrd followed by an RBI-double by Kirk Nieuwenhuis. They came back in the fifth and scored their second and final run of the game when Byrd came through in the clutch again, this time with an RBI-single to drive home Daniel Murphy.
Despite scoring a run, that fifth inning proved critical for the Mets. Eric Young was tagged out at home for the first out, and an opportunity to blow the game wide open with runners on second and third and one out went by the wayside, largely due to a critical strike out by Ike Davis who went 0-for-4 to lower his average to .166 for the season. Meanwhile, Josh Satin continues to ride the pine…
Carlos Torres made his first start for the Mets and was in control through his first very sharp four innings until the Pirates finally broke through with a run in the fifth. Overall he allowed five hits and a run in five innings, while walking none and fanning five. Not a bad outing at all.
Andrew McCutchen tied the game at 2-2 with a solo homer in the sixth off David Aardsma who had relieved Torres. However it was Greg Burke who yielded the most damage, allowing two more Pirate runs to score in the seventh that sealed the 4-2 victory for the Pirates.
The Mets offense was woeful tonight and was just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position while leaving ten men on base and striking out ten times.
Eric Young (16), Daniel Murphy (10) and David Wright (15) each stole a base in the game, but the captain saw his 12-game hitting streak come to an end.
Note: Immediately after the game, the Mets announced that Jordany Valdespin would be optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas and reliever Scott Atchison would be activated from the disabled list. Valdespin batted .189 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 143 plate appearances with the Mets this season.
The Mets will look to salvage the final game of their three-game series with the Pirates tomorrow with Dillon Gee opposing top pitching prospect Gerrit Cole at 1:35 pm.
