Mets Shredded By Long Ball in 14-2 Loss to Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates blasted Mets pitching for seven home runs – including two grand slams – in a 14-2 rout at PNC Park Friday that was so bad a message on the scoreboard told fans that they were out of fireworks. The seven long balls tied the mark for both the most the Mets had […]

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The Pittsburgh Pirates blasted Mets pitching for seven home runs – including two grand slams – in a 14-2 rout at PNC Park Friday that was so bad a message on the scoreboard told fans that they were out of fireworks.

The seven long balls tied the mark for both the most the Mets had ever given up in a game and the most Pittsburgh had ever hit in a single contest. When the carnage was over, Mets catcher Luis Torrens got an out to end the eighth inning.

Switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds homered once from each side of the plate, the second a grand slam off Jake Diekman in the seventh to break the game open. Reynolds drove in six runs and has 16 home runs on the season. Rowdy Tellez followed suit with two home runs as well, including a grand slam of his own.

The Mets got their first look at rookie phenom Paul Skenes, who finished Friday having thrown 74 pitches of at least 100 mph on the year – more than double any other starter in baseball according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.

The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick didn’t have his best stuff to begin the night, however. Jeff McNeil homered off Skenes on an 0-2 pitch to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the third inning. It was only the second time McNeil had ever gone deep on an 0-2 count. He now has 61 career home runs. Jose Iglesias later drove in a run with a ground out in the fourth to give the Mets a 2-0 advantage, but Luis Severino (5-3) couldn’t hold the lead.

Severino, who had given up nine home runs over his first 100 1/3 innings this season, gave up three over his next two. Tellez and Jack Suwinski each hit solo shots in the fourth while Reynolds’ first homer of the night was a two-run shot in the fifth to give Pittsburgh (42-45) a 4-2 lead. It was the sixth time across 142 career starts that Severino gave up three home runs in a game.

Skenes gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in seven innings while throwing a career-high 107 pitches (69 strikes) and punching out eight. He is 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA in 10 starts on the season. He entered Friday as the only pitcher in MLB history to surrender fewer than 14 runs and fan at least 70 in his first nine starts.

“Look, he’s another really good arm that we are about to face,” manager Carlos Mendoza said pre-game. “I feel like the past three weeks or so we’ve been facing a lot of good arms and here he’s one of them. Plus-plus fastball, but he also mixes his pitches, especially the splitter. So, we’ve got to be ready for the velo, but we also got to get him up in the zone. And the guys will be ready for it. You know it’s a big day here in Pittsburgh because at least every time he pitches it’s a big day.”

The Mets will get Edwin Díaz back from his 10-game suspension on Saturday. They went 5-5 during that stretch with the bullpen performing poorly in most of the losses. Diekman relieved Severino in the seventh with the bases loaded and no one out. He proceeded to give up a grand slam, single and walk before being pulled without recording an out.

Severino’s final line: six innings, seven earned runs, nine hits, two walks and three strikeouts. It was the most earned runs he has given up in a single game this season. His ERA jumped from 3.42 to 3.83.

The Pirates added three more home runs off Ty Adcock in the eighth as Yasmani Grandal and Michael Taylor hit solo shots before Tellez unloaded his grand slam.

Stat of the Game

The Mets have not shutout an opponent this season through 86 games – a franchise record, per SNY. The previous mark was 60 games in 1965. The streak is the longest to start a season by any National League team since the 2002 Montreal Expos (124 games).

Player of the Game

Pete Alonso went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. It was his 21st double, matching his total for 2023. Shoutout to Luis Torrens, the only Mets pitcher not to allow an earned run. He retired the only batter he faced in the eighth inning.

On Deck

The Mets hope lefty David Peterson (3-0, 3.51 ERA) can help snap their three-game losing streak in the second game of the four-game series at PNC Park. Lefty Bailey Falter (4-6, 3.87 ERA) will start for the Pirates. Game time is 4:05 p.m. ET and it will air on SNY.

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