 in his prior 12 games. He doubled home Devin Mesoraco in the second against Nick Kingham (5-5) and hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the fourth.Wilmer Flores also hit a two-run homer and had three RBIs as the struggling Mets posted their highest run total since scoring a dozen times against Colorado on June 18.Amed Rosario and Jose Bautista had two hits each as New York sent the Pirates to their second straight loss following an 11-game winning streak that pushed Pittsburgh back into the playoff chase.Steven Matz (5-8) settled down after giving up two-run homers to David Freese and Josh Harrison in the early innings. Matz tied a career-high with nine strikeouts, walked two and retired his final 10 batters to win for just the third time in his last 11 starts.Freese and Harrison helped the Pirates dig out of early deficits but the Mets kept piling on against Kingham and the bullpen.Kingham left after Cabrera's shot in the fourth put New York ahead 6-4. The rookie allowed six runs and seven hits in three-plus innings, the second time in his last four starts he failed to get an out past the third.Brandon Nimmo scored an unearned run in the fourth following an error by third baseman David Freese. New York tacked on three more in the seventh.Pittsburgh tied a season high with three errors while losing for only the third time in 16 games.TRAINER'S ROOMPirates: C Francisco Cervelli went 0 for 4 and committed an error in his return from concussion-like symptoms that had sidelined hinm since July 14. Cervelli described feeling like he had a ''hangover'' after getting hit by foul balls or bats in four consecutive games. Though the Cervelli has taken ground balls in practice, there are no plans to put him in a game in the infield anytime soon. ''From my perspective, it's like telling a matador not to fight bulls,'' manager Clint Hurdle said.UP NEXTMets: Jason Vargas (2-6, 8.60 ERA) is expected to come off the DL to start on Friday. Vargas has been out since June 20 with a strained right calf.Pirates: Ivan Nova (6-6, 4.28 ERA) is 4-1 since returning from a stint on the DL with a sprained right ring finger on June 10. He is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in five starts against the Mets.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Pirates, Mets start series in Pittsburgh 5h ago• 2 min read The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets enter a series at PNC Park each having won their most recent series, but the clubs are in disparate places with the trade deadline looming.The Pirates won two of three in Cleveland, with Wednesday's 4-0 loss ending an 11-game winning streak that was the franchise's longest since 1996. The strong run allowed Pittsburgh (53-50), which at one point was flirting with giving Cincinnati a run for the cellar in the National League Central, to not only get back above .500 but also pass St. Louis and move into third in the division.The Pirates had scored six or more runs in seven straight games before they ran into a wall named Trevor Bauer, the Cleveland starter who held them to two hits over seven-plus innings Wednesday."He made good pitches. As we've said all along the way, good pitching stops good hitting," said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle, who nonetheless recognized his team's strong play through its streak."I'm incredibly proud of the men. They've gone out and played baseball, they've bonded up, they've worked together, they've fought, and we've worked our way back into things. Lot of season left. This is a great growth opportunity for us. There's more in front of us." The Pirates are opening a nine-game homestand.The Mets (41-58) won 6-4 Wednesday to take two of three from San Diego. It was their first series win since May 18-20 against Arizona, and they are still in also-ran territory in the NL East.New York will be without outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, not only for the series but for the season. It was announced Wednesday that he will undergo surgery this week to have bone calcifications removed from both heels."Certainly, when you don't have one of your best players on the field, you have to look at your team differently," Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said. "At this point, we just found this information out in the last day or so. I think it's a little bit too quick to speculate as to how we're going to change our plan moving forward." Pittsburgh could be without two starting outfielders. Corey Dickerson left Tuesday's game and missed Wednesday's because of a hamstring problem. Starling Marte left in the first inning Wednesday after being hit on the back of the left hand with a pitch. Hurdle indicated the hand isn't broken but the resulting contusion could be limiting.In the opener of the four-game series, New York left-hander Steven Matz (4-8, 3.65 ERA) is scheduled to face right-hander Nick Kingham (5-4, 4.11 ERA).Matz has lost three starts in a row, including Saturday when he gave up five runs and nine hits in five innings in a 7-6 loss to the New York Yankees."Everything was up in the zone," Matz said. "Just wasn't sharp out there overall." Kingham, a rookie who will be facing the Mets for the first time, has won three straight starts, allowing a combined six runs with 17 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.In Saturday's 6-2 win against Cincinnati, he gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings and at the plate had his second multiple-RBI game in three starts.
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