PITTSBURGH — Don’t look now, but the Mets are suddenly surging.
A 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night at PNC Park matched their season-high win streak with four in a row. It’s not much, but it’s better baseball than the team has played all season.
The Mets jumped all over Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski early in the game, going up 1-0 in the first, 5-0 in the third, and 6-0 in the fourth. They knocked out Mlodzinski after the third inning, scoring four times after a rain delay, then continued to put pressure on the bullpen.
“I think anytime you win four in a row, there is definitely a good vibe,” said second baseman Marcus Semien. “The way we’re winning, offense is a good sign. You think about just kind of the grind the offense has been on in the first half, and the way we’re winning games now. It’s definitely going to bring some good vibes.”
Semien hit his 14th homer of the season in the third, his second in as many games. A.J. Ewing went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, and Carson Benge went 2-for-2 with two RBI before leaving the game with a sore left wrist.
X-rays were negative. The Mets will do more tests Saturday to determine if he can play the rest of the series. It was “stiff” following the game.
Playing left field instead of his usual right, Benge chased after a deep fly ball in the third inning that tailed toward the wall. He slid into it hard, coming up holding his wrist, but also managed to make the catch. The rookie outfielder stayed in the game, but was later removed for Christian Pache.
Left-hander Zach Thornton tossed five shutout innings over Pittsburgh. The rain delay limited him, since he had to use some of his bullets during the delay to stay warm, but Thornton would have liked to go longer.
“The rain put him in a bad spot,” said interim manager Andy Green. “We were really close to him not going back out, just as long as the delay was. He actually threw a little bit underneath in the cage here just to keep his arm going. Given that, we really shortened his outing. The way he was pitching, that’s the type of outing you see 7-8 innings from. We would have loved to be able to do that, but with the rain, it just wasn’t right for him.”
Thornton gave up only four hits, walked two and struck out three, keeping the ball on the ground.
It was a solid bounce-back outing for the rookie. His last time out, he struggled against the Miami Marlins, getting pulled in the fifth inning.
“I knew I needed to get back in zone early, early on with most every pitch,” Thornton said. “I thought I did a good job of that.”
He handed the ball over to right-hander Dedniel Nuñez in the sixth. The Mets’ bullpen isn’t what it was a week ago, but Nuñez, left-hander Jefry Yan, and right-hander Daniel Duarte limited the damage to keep the Mets ahead.
Nuñez left the game after giving up back-to-back singles in the bottom of the seventh. With the Mets up 6-0, Yan gave up an RBI single to Jared Triolo, putting the Pirates on the board. No. 9 hitter Rafael Flores Jr. walked to turn over the lineup and load the bases with no outs. Former Mets prospect Jake Mangum hit a fly ball to right field for the first out, deep enough to score the lead runner.
Yan got Nathaniel Lowe to pop up to third base for the second out. With Bryan Reynolds at the plate trying to extend the inning, Yan threw a slider in the dirt that bounced past catcher Luis Torrens. Triolo came from third, but Torrens dove for it and Yan sprinted in from the mound, sliding over home plate right as he caught the ball.
It was the exact right time. Triolo was out, and the call was confirmed after a review.
“I wasn’t surprised by the emotion that came after,” Green said. “I was thrilled to see him tackle the baserunner and get a tag down.”
Luke Weaver made his Pirates debut against the team that traded him Monday at the deadline. He gave up a single to Ewing with two outs and walked Francisco Lindor, but managed to stop a rally before it started, retiring Bo Bichette.
Mets closer Devin Williams, who experienced arm fatigue earlier this week in Cleveland, had a shaky ninth, giving up two runs. The defense bailed him out, with Brett Baty throwing out Jacob Gonzalez at the wall on his RBI single to right field. Williams finished the game, but not before giving up another walk and another RBI single.
According to Fangraphs, the Mets have only a .01% chance of making the playoffs. If they go 37-9 the rest of the way, they could make the postseason. It’s unlikely, but the Mets still seem to be trending in a positive direction, even if that direction isn’t the postseason.