PITTSBURGH – Christian Scott was rolling with two outs in the sixth inning Monday at 77 pitches when his manager went to the mound and asked for the baseball.
All hell was about to break loose for the Mets.
The flurry following Carlos Mendoza’s curious decision to remove his starter included a walk, three singles (two of which weren’t hit particularly hard), double, error, wild pitch and homer. Eric Orze, in his major league debut, lit the fire and Adrian Houser behind him turned it into an inferno in an 8-2 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park.
For a second straight four-game series the Mets ended with a frustrating split. The other occurred last week in Washington where the Mets (44-45) had two winnable games escape them after victories in the first two.
It left the Mets headed home for six games against the Nationals and Rockies before the All-Star break with a sense of urgency to regain momentum. Since sweeping the Yankees two games at Citi Field two weeks ago the Mets are 5-6 and haven’t won a series.
Scott, in his second start since returning from Triple-A Syracuse, allowed two earned runs on one hit and one walk with three strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. But after he retired Andrew McCutchen for the second out in the sixth, Scott was removed and the Pirates responded against Orze and Houser.
Oneil Cruz blasted a two-run homer in the fourth that put the Mets in a 2-0 hole. Scott walked McCutchen leading off the inning before Cruz jumped on a splitter and launched it 431 feet to left-center.
The Mets put two runners on base in the third, when Mitch Keller allowed a single to Jeff McNeil and plunked Francisco Lindor, but the right-hander then began a streak of seven straight batters retired until Harrison Bader’s single leading off the sixth.
Brandon Nimmo delivered a two-run homer in the sixth that tied it 2-2. Following Bader’s single – a ball that hung up and landed between Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski – Nimmo swung at a 3-0 pitch and homered to right-center. The blast was Nimmo’s 14th of the season – a day after he learned he hadn’t been selected to the National League All-Star team. Nimmo and Lindor remain strong candidates as potential roster replacements.
Orze walked Reynolds before Cruz singled. Orze got Rowdy Tellez to hit a slow grounder to the shortstop hole, but the hefty first baseman beat Mark Vientos’ throw for an infield hit that gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
Houser was summoned and got Nick Gonzales to poke a grounder between Pete Alonso and first base that went for a two-run double with an error on McNeil in right that allowed him to reach third. Gonzales scored on a wild pitch and Joshua Pallacios’ ensuing homer extended the Mets’ deficit to 7-2.
Ke’Bryan Hayes singled leading off the eighth against Houser and scored on Palacios’ RBI fielder’s choice.