J-Bell, Gregory Homer, Mets Bumble As Bucs Take 6-4 Victory

Quick start off Seth Lugo; Starling reached thanks to a Met bobble (he may have beat it out even if cleanly fielded), stole second and came home on a grounder followed by a sac fly. Red Beard's two-out double went for naught. Jamo walked two of the first three Mets (he was up 0-1 & 0-2 on them) but a 1-6-3 DP cured that bit of wildness. The Bucs added on in the second when Gregory was served a center-cut 3-2 heater and launched it 415' into the stands. NY got a leadoff knock for their action. J-Hay reached second in the third on 3B Luis Guillorme's second error with two away and Colin Moran took a free pass on a work-around. Eli waved the wand and singled in a third run. Joey Bats walked with two gone but a whiff left him stranded. Gregory opened with a walk, but the Bucco cash-in streak ended in the fourth. It was a quick, nine-pitch frame for JT.

Jamo won his fifth game tonight (photo MLB Pipeline)

J-Bell rolled over on an outside change to start the fifth but still got aboard on the Met's third error, this one by 2B Asdrubal Cabrero. He moved up on a grounder but was then nailed trying for third on a comebacker. Eli dropped a lob into center followed by a walk to juice the sacks, but Gregory couldn't break it open. In a bit of karma, Guillorme reached on an error by his counterpart, Colin Moran. Michael Conforto almost made it a big boot with a drive up the line; it slid just outside the foul pole and a review confirmed the foul call before he fanned. Tyler Bashlor made his MLB debut in the sixth, and welcome to the bigs - with two outs, he lost Starling, who stole a base and then jogged home after J-Bell went long the opp way, just hooking the ball inside the pole. The Mets got a knock but never threatened the scoreboard. Pittsburgh went quietly in the seventh.

NY started with back-to-back two-baggers, the second glancing off Red Beard's glove. Tyler Glasnow got the ball and gave up a walk and homer to Wilmer Flores. Nothing is easy for this team. Steven Brault went to the hill and walked his first batter. He fell behind Joey Bats 3-0, but a kind call and a fish for a low cutter fanned him, then Steven fed a big DP ball to Cabrera. Robert Gsellman toed the rubber in the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 frame. Kyle Crick issued the Pirates sixth free pass with an out followed by a single before he settled down to put up another zero. Starling opened the ninth with a knock and J-Bell - what else? - walked. A J-Hay infield single filled the bases. Red Beard popped out, but Eli brought in an insurance marker with a fly to center for Felipe Vazquez.  His heater was money; he showed all three Mets something off speed while blowing the ol' number one past them, fanning the side. RTJR!

Eli is hitting .296 (image Positively Pittsburgh)

It wasn't exactly textbook baseball - a combined 13 hits, three of which left the yard, 11 walks, four errors and 328 pitches made for a 3-1/2 hour match that isn't destined for ESPN. But it snaps a five-game losing streak (the Mets have dropped seven straight) and maybe will lift a little weight off the backs of the struggling Buccos. We'll see tomorrow; it would be nice to see some carryover.

Notes:

• Eli had a pair of raps with a sac fly while Starling had a hit, walk, scored three runs and stole a base; J-Bell and Gregory homered. Still, the Buccos collected just seven hits although drawing five walks was promising.
• It took nine pitches, but Corey Dickerson worked his first walk since May 23rd. J-Bell hit his first homer of the month; he last time he hit a big fly was on May 31st.
• The grapevine has Altoona RHP Mitch Keller, the Bucs next big thing, moving on to Indy before the All-Star break. He's 8-2/3.00, averaging eight K and 3.5 walks per nine going into tonight's start, which only boosted his status as he went eight scoreless frames, giving up one hit and fanning six on 92 pitches.