The Mets jumped out to an early lead, but they couldn't make it last in their 8-4 loss to the Pirates on Friday, ending their seven-game win streak. >> Box Score
Five takeaways from Friday's game...
1) Coming off a five-hit shutout in his last outing, Steven Matz cruised through the first three innings against the Pirates. But things took an unfortunate turn for the lefty in the fourth. After a leadoff walk, Matz allowed three straight RBI hits to Josh Bell, Jose Osuna and Melky Cabrera. Shortly after another RBI hit from Elias Diaz, Matz was pulled from the game. He went just 3.2 innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits.
2) There's been a lot of talk about keeping Robinson Cano in the cleanup spot, but the second baseman had two more hits on Friday. He now has five hits in his last three games, including a home run on Thursday against the White Sox.
3) Pete Alonso has scuffled since the All-Star break, hitting under .200, but he delivered early on Friday. Affter Jeff McNeil doubled to lead off the game, Alonso quickly followed with a double of his own, scoring the Mets' first run. Later in the inning, a Wilson Ramos groundout gave Matz a 2-0 lead in the first, but it wouldn't hold up.
Alonso then singled with two outs in the seventh inning, giving the Mets first and third with the Pirates leading 5-3. Cano then lifted a shallow pop-up to center, and an error by shortstop Kevin Newman allowed the ball to fall in. Newman made up for the error, making a sliding grab to rob Wilson Ramos of a potential game-tying hit.
4) Pirates' starter Trevor Williams took the tough-luck loss against Matz when the two faced off last week, but he out-dueled Matz this time around. The righty went six innings, allowing just three runs on six hits.
5) In the bottom of the seventh, after the Mets had just cut the Pirates lead down to one, Starling Marte crushed a three-run home run off of Tyler Bashlor, breaking the game open at 8-4. Bashlor's ERA on the season now sits at 7.16.
Highlights
For your viewing pleasure, here's JD (Just Doubles?) showing off that pretty swing (via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/IUenFlVNQB
- SNY (@SNYtv) August 3, 2019
What's next
The Mets and Pirates continue their three-game set at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. Marcus Stroman (6-11, 2.96 ERA) will make his Mets debut against Pirates righty Chris Archer (3-8, 5.58 ERA).