Bailey Falter Solid Again but Pirates’ Offense Continues to Scuffle in Loss to Mets

Bailey Falter had another solid outing for the Pittsburgh Pirates but the offense stayed cold and the bullpen struggled, resulting in a 9-1 loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field on Wednesday afternoon.

Falter gave the Pirates (11-8) five strong innings, holding the Mets (10-8) to two runs on four hits. The left-hander walked one and struck out a season-high four batters. 47 of his 73 pitches went for strikes.

Over his last three starts, Falter (1-1) has allowed three runs in 16 innings pitched (1.69 ERA) and has issued only two free passes.

The two runs the Mets scored against Falter came on a Starling Marte two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. It was the 150th home run in Marte’s career.

The long ball erased a 1-0 lead the Pirates obtained in the top of the frame. Bryan Reynolds reached on an infield single and Henry Davis scored from third on the play.

Outside of Reynolds’ single, the Pirates had no answer for Luis Severino (2-1), who largely silenced the Pirates’ offense in six innings of work.

With three perfect innings from the Mets’ bullpen, the final 13 Pirates’ batters were retired in order.

Oneil Cruz, who entered play hitless in his last 14 at-bats, was the only Pirates’ player with a multi-hit game. He finished 2 for 4 with a pair of singles. 

As a team, the Pirates managed five runs against the Mets in their three-game series. 

New York padded their lead with a four-run sixth inning against Pirates reliever Hunter Stratton. With two outs, Tyrone Taylor delivered a two-run single to center. Harrison Bader followed with a  two-run blast over the left-field fence to put the Mets ahead 6-1. 

The Mets loaded the bases against David Bednar in the eighth and plated a run when Pete Alonso scored on Francisco Alvarez’s fielder’s choice to second base.

Bednar struck out the next two batters he faced but was taken out of the game after throwing 30 pitches. In came Josh Fleming, who allowed a two-run single to Brandon Nimmo to extend the Mets’ lead to 9-1.

After getting swept by the Mets, the Pirates have dropped six of their last eight games played.

Up Next

The Pirates have a day off on Thursday before the start of a seven-game homestand against the Boston Reds Sox on Thursday. Neither team has announced a starter. First pitch: 6:40 ET.

Housekeeping

Shortly before first pitch, Joey Bart was scratched from the lineup and was replaced by Henry Davis.