Mets Score Early & Often, Take Series With 13-2 Romp

After a moment of silence for the victims of the El Paso and Dayton massacres, Joe Musgrove took the bump. Three pitches into the game, Michael Conforto went deep. Big Joe was later tagged for a two-out two-bagger and JD Davis dinger high off the Rotunda; kinda wonder if Pirates pitchers warm up before a game. Bryan Reynolds singled off Noah Syndergaard; Marte hit into a force, stole second and was left there. It was a clean second for Joe. K-Man walked and stole second with two away; he too was stranded. The Mets unleashed a barrage of singles and doubles in the third; it was 6-0 when the smoke cleared. The Pirates had no response in their half. A HBP, double and single in the fourth added two more tallies to the Met account and brought in Yefry Ramirez, who closed the gate. It was 1-2-3 for Pittsburgh. Both sides were quiet in the fifth.

Big Joe was rocked today - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Thor singled to open the sixth and scored on a two-out double. A couple of scattered walks and Redbeard error leaked in two more. Syndergaard made it 13-in-a-row as he cruised along, and the teams are clearing the benches in the blowout. In the seventh, Thor singled again and Jeff McNeil homered while a following double was left on the pond. The Bucs finally dented Syndergaard via a Joey O double and two-out rap by Redbeard. Parker Markel tossed an uneventful eighth, as Donnie Hart did for the Mets. Parker tossed another clean frame in the ninth, with three whiffs in two inning. Jeurys Familia struck out the first two Bucs, gave up a dinger to Joey O, and then got a grounder to put this baby to bed.

Bad day, and beyond the scoreboard. There were perhaps six balls hit through the infield that appeared stoppable, raising a great argument for Cole Tucker to see some time and more of Joey O at third. We're not sure if the pitching problems are more evaluation or development rooted, but the Pirates could sure use a sit down to get on the same page with the best practices clubs like Houston and Tampa. Might as well get the process going now; it certainly can't hurt the on field performance.

Notes:

• Joey O had two of the Pirates four hits (HR & 2B), scoring twice with a RBI.
• The announced attendance was 22,716 today.
• In case you're wondering, like we were, why Keone Kela's absence wasn't countered by a call up for the duration of his suspension, it's because a player suspended for an on-field incident can't be replaced on the active roster, per MLB rules, unlike PED and off-field suspensions. So if Joey O, Kyle Crick and Keone are all suspended during the same time period, the Pirates will be playing with a 22-man roster.
• On his radio show, NH said Neal Huntington said today "Mitch Keller is pounding on the door..." but wonders who he's going to bump. Can't imagine that there are too many blocks in the rotation since three of the starters (Big Joe, 4.69; Willy, 4.75; Archie 5.35) have ERA's in the high fours or above.
• Jerry DiPaola of the Trib talked to Cervy, who is itching to get into rehab and return to the team. Franny also sounds as if he doesn't expect to spend 2020 as a Bucco.