Peterson Flops, Pirates Feast in 9-1 Rout of Mets

Pirates 9 Mets 1 (PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA)

Mets Record: 48-35

Mets Streak: L1

Mets Last 10: 3-7

WP: Mitch Keller (2-10)

LP: David Peterson (5-4)

Seat On The Korner: Mitch Keller

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

If you look in the Illustrated Dictionary under the term, "hard-luck pitcher," you'd probably find Mitch Keller's photo. Keller entered the game with a 1-10 record (those losses all consecutive), but has consistently pitched into the sixth inning and beyond (he has 11 quality starts and probably would have had a 12th if this game was closer) and has had the least run support of any pitcher in baseball, an average of 2.11 runs per game. In this game, the bottom of the Pirates order staked him to four second inning runs, and Keller responded by keeping his cleat on the Mets' throats. He held the Mets to one run -- a Juan Soto homer -- and five hits in five and third innings, striking out four and walking only one. This was Keller's second start against the Mets this season; he pitched seven innings of two-run ball at Citi Field May 13, but lost, 2-1. Take a seat, Mitch, and tell Ralph how it feels to finally win one and finally get some run support.

Need To Know:

• The game was the 11th in a string of 13 for the Mets; so far, they are 3-8.

• The Mets are now 19-23 on the road, as opposed to 29-12 at Citi Field .

• Pretty much as expected, the MRI showed Griffin Canning ruptured his Achilles tendon and will be out for the next 9-12 months after undergoing surgery. Blade Tidwell was recalled from Syracuse to take his place, but after entering the game in the fifth in relief of David Peterson -- possibly taking him out of what would have been his scheduled next start -- the question is: will he be breakfasting in Syracuse Saturday morning?

• Speaking of one-day wonders, Adam Warren, the hero of Thursday night's game against the Braves, went straight from his Seat on the Korner to a Seat on the Greyhound to Syracuse. Warren was replaced by lefty Colin Pooche. Woof.

• Other roster moves: Mark Vientos activated off the IL. Jared Young optioned to Syracuse. Dicky Lovelady released after refusing to be outrighted to Syracuse, proving he spent too much time reading, and believing, his press clippings from his single day at Citi Field. Coming back and Syracuse-bound: outfielder Jose Azocar.

• Interesting stat of the day (thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau): This is the first time in franchise history that the Mets have had four players with 15 home runs before the end of June: Juan Soto (20), Pete Alonso (18) Francisco Lindor (16) and Brandon Nimmo (16).

• Semi-interesting stat of the day: Pete Alonso has never hit a home run at PNC Park. After his dinger Friday night, Juan Soto has a total of two. .

• Going into Friday night's game. Pirate batters had provided anemic support, at best, for their starting pitchers. Ranked by lowest average run support per game, Friday's starter was first, at 2.11; Andrew Heaney was fourth, at 2.61, and Paul Skenes was sixth, at 3.06.

• Starting pitchers for Saturday's tilt: Paul Blackburn for the Mets and Bailey Falter for the Pirates.

  
  

Turning Point:

We all knew when Juan Soto signed with the Mets that the team was getting a Hall of Fame caliber power hitter whose best position probably was (and will be toward the end of his contract) designated hitter. His fielding deficiencies were on display throughout the game, but no more glaringly than in the second inning, with Pirates on first and third with one out and a 1-0 lead. Alexander Canario -- the last player cut by the Mets in spring training who has come back to haunt the club by hitting .470 against the them (7-17) while batting .222 overall -- launched a fly ball to right that Soto misplayed. What should have been a sacrifice fly became a double, and before the inning was over, Canario and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa had scored and the game was essentially over.

Three Keys:

A Re-Pete, And Not in a Good Way

For the second consecutive game, David Peterson didn't make it out of the fifth, just when the Mets needed him to step up and claim the role of the rotation's ace. You could have said that, also for the second consecutive start, Peterson was victimized by one bad inning -- but what a bad inning it was. In the bottom of the second, Peterson served up enough cookies to make the bottom of a weak-hitting Pirates batting order look like the "We Are Family," Willie Stargell-Dave Parker Pirates of the late 1970s. Hits were flying all over PNC Park, and after yielding another run in the fourth, manager Carlos Mendoza pulled Peterson in favor of the newly-recalled Blade Tidwell, whom they had hoped to save for a starting spot next week. Peterson is hitting the skids at just the wrong time, with the starting rotation in shambles and the bullpen taxed all the way to Syracuse.

Waving the Red Flag

Legendary sportscaster Warner Wolf, one of the first to include game highlights, often noted after showing a particular highlight, "You could turn your set off right there." Manager Carlos Mendoza turned his set off in the seventh, pulling Francisco and Lindor and Juan Soto to avoid potential injury and making Blade Tidwell eat innings to keep from having to tax one of his bullpen regulars.

Vientos Looks Rusty

Activated after spending 25 days on the IL with a hamstring strain, Mark Vientos looked both rusty and overanxious in his at-bats, including one where a hit could have changed the game's complexion. He struck out swinging on three pitches in the second and flew out in the fourth. In the sixth, he went to bat wit two on and the score 5-1. A single would have made the game closer and moved the line, and a homer, of course, would have made it 5-4. He took three pitches -- a ball sandwiched between two strikes -- fouled one off and struck out swinging. He hit a weak infield fly in the ninth. The Mets need more production from their DH spot, and if Vientos doesn't produce, you have to wonder where he might fit into the Mets' plans, with Jesse Winker beginning a rehab stint and Starling Marte showing he can still hit.

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