Mets Sweep Pirates Behind Severino and Offense
The Mets and Pirates closed out their three-game series on Wednesday in an afternoon matinee in New York.
Luis Severino (1-1, 2.14 ERA) took the mound for the Mets on Wednesday against Bailey Falter (1-0, 4.05 ERA) for the visiting Pirates.
Severino had another impressive start for the Mets. He gave up just one run on five hits and walked three over six innings and 96 pitches thrown (61 for strikes). He struck out four and earned his second win of the season to improve to 2-1 on the season with a 2.14 ERA.
Apr 17, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Tyrone Taylor (15) follows through on a two run single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The only blemish against Severino came in the third. Henry Davis scored on an infield single from Bryan Reynolds, marking the third time this series the Pirates scored first.
However, as they have so often recently, the Mets struck back in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead. Starling Marte hit a two-home run with one out that scored Zack Short to give the Mets a 2-1 lead over the Pirates, a lead they never look back on. That home run was Marte’s 150th home run.
The Mets lead stayed at 2-1 until the sixth. After Francisco Lindor singled and Pete Alonso walked, three batters later, Tyrone Taylor hit an RBI single that scored Lindor and Alonso to make it a 4-1 game.
Taylor was a spark plug from the bottom of the lineup for the Mets on Wednesday. He went 3-for-4 from the bottom of the lineup, driving in two runs and scoring one run. Taylor is now batting .341 on the season.
Harrison Bader extended the Mets’ lead even further in the bottom of the sixth on his first home run as a Met, a 2-run home run that extended the Mets’ lead to 6-1 over the Pirates.
Bader has also been another plus for the Mets. From the last spot in the order, Bader went 2-for-4 with one homer and two RBIs. He raised his season average to .288 after Wednesday’s win.
In the bottom of the eighth with two on, Francisco Alvarez hit into a fielder choice that scored Alonso to make it a 7-1 Mets lead. Four batters later, with the bases loaded, Brandon Nimmo hit a 2-RBI single to left field that scored McNeil and Alvarez to make it a 9-1 Mets lead.
The Mets’ bullpen was also another plus in Wednesday’s win. Jorge López, Jake Diekman, and Grant Hartwig closed it out for the Mets with three scoreless, hitless innings. They struck out a combined three more batters as the Mets went on to defeat the Pirates 9-1 and claim the series against Pittsburgh.
With their 9-1 win over the Pirates, the Mets collected their first sweep of the season. They’ve won 10 of their last 13 games, and are two games over .500 after starting the season 0-5.
Player of the Game
The Metsmerized Player of the Game is Tyrone Taylor. Taylor was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored in the Mets’ 9-1 win over the Pirates.
With his 3-for-4 day, Taylor is now hitting .341/.378/.463, with a .941 OPS.
On Deck
The Mets have an off-day for travel on Thursday as they head to the West Coast to play six games in California. They’ll kick off their road trip with the Dodgers on Friday. Jose Buttó (0-0, 0.75 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets in Game One against the Dodgers on Thursday. First pitch is set for 10:10 pm EDT.
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