From 9-0 to 11-1: Mets Get Their Revenge against Bucs

Mets 11 Pirates 1 (PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA)

Mets record: 52-67

Mets streak: Won 1

WP - Sean Manaea (4-5)

LP - Jared Jones (2-4)

Seat on the Korner: Bo Bichette

We select a Star of the Game and virtually invite him to take his Seat on the Korner — just as Ralph Kiner did on WOR-TV Channel 9 during the early days of the New York Mets.

Continuing the tradition of Rheingold Beer sponsoring Kiner’s Korner, this season every seat is proudly presented by The Main Event Restaurant & Sports Bar.

With locations in Plainview and Farmingdale, The Main Event features 80+ HD TVs, fresh daily seafood, and Black Angus certified steaks—so you never have to choose between great food and the big game.

There are days when a player doesn't just have a good game—he grabs the game by the collar and takes over. Bo Bichette did exactly that Sunday, earning himself a well-deserved seat on the Korner next to Ralph. Bichette entered the game hitless in his previous six at-bats, but apparently decided that was quite enough of that nonsense. He proceeded to go 5-for-5 with three RBIs, a walk and two doubles, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances. Even better, the four-hit afternoon raised his batting average by eight points. Bichette was in the middle of everything the Mets did offensively, setting the tone early and continuing to deliver as the Mets turned the Pirates into a very long afternoon. If this was Bichette's way of saying, "Slump? What slump?" message received loud and clear. Bo, pull up a chair—you've earned your seat on the Korner.

Need to Know

• Prior to the game the Mets made the following roster moves:

  RHP Xzavion Curry — Optioned to Triple-A following last night's game.

  RHP Jack Weisenburger — Selected to the Major League roster. He will wear #82.

• Carson Benge returned to the lineup after sitting out Saturday and went 2-5 with an RBI

• Carson Benge has safely reached base in 13 straight

  games since July 25...He is batting 18-50 (.360) in that span with nine

  runs, two doubles, one triple, two homers, seven RBI, four walks, two

  steals in that span.

• One day after the Mets used a position player Luis Torrens to pitch, the Pirates did the same as Rafael Flores Jr. pitched a scoreless ninth,

• New York is now 8-8 in rubber games this year.

• The Mets secured their 15th series victory of the season and seventh on the

  road.

• The Mets are in the midst of a nine-game road trip (5-1) against the Guardians (3-0), Pirates (2-1) with three games left with the Braves.

• The Mets are now 27-33 away from Citi Field this season

• The Mets are 17-20 under Andy Green .

  
  

Turning Point

The turning point came in the third inning, when Luis Robert Jr. launched a two-run homer to center field, scoring Bo Bichette and turning what had been a 2-0 Mets lead into a 4-0 advantage. The Mets would continue to pile on from there, eventually turning the game into a laugher, but that four-run cushion was particularly important early on. With Sean Manaea pitching the way he has been lately, giving him a four-run lead this early in the game was exactly what the Mets needed. Robert's blast didn't just add two runs to the scoreboard—it changed the complexion of the game, putting the Mets firmly in control and allowing Manaea and the Mets to play from a position of strength the rest of the way.

Three Keys

Mets Buc up Pirates pitchers

The Mets certainly deserve credit for taking advantage, but the Pirates’ pitching staff did them plenty of favors Sunday. The first three Pittsburgh pitchers—Jared Jones, Evan Sisk and Kirby Yates—combined to throw 122 pitches over the first five innings, with just 72 strikes and 50 balls. That is a strike rate of only 59 percent, and the Mets continually made Pittsburgh pitchers work. Jones was particularly inefficient, needing 69 pitches to get through just three innings, throwing only 44 strikes while allowing six hits, issuing three walks and hitting two batters. Sisk followed with 24 pitches, just 11 for strikes, while Yates needed 29 pitches to get through his inning, throwing only 17 strikes. In other words, the Pirates were constantly behind in the count, constantly working from the stretch and constantly giving the Mets opportunities to extend innings. When your first three pitchers need 122 pitches to get through five innings, you're not exactly making life easy on your defense—or giving your offense much of a chance to get back into the game.

Sean was the Man(aea)

Sean Manaea continues to look more and more like the 2024 version of himself. Sunday was another step in that direction. Manaea tossed a solid seven innings, allowing just three hits and one run, with the only damage coming on a solo home run. He also struck out a season-high 11 batters while walking nobody. That makes it four consecutive quality starts for Manaea and five in his last six outings. Since moving back into the rotation full time, Manaea is now 3-4 with 24 earned runs over 61.2 innings, 3.53 ERA along with 18 walks and 61 strikeouts. Perhaps most importantly, his ERA dropped from 4.33 to 4.13 with Sunday's performance. The Mets gave him a four-run cushion early, and Manaea did exactly what you want a starting pitcher to do with a lead—he went right after the Pirates and never let them back into the game.

Gary Cohen had More Trouble in the Eighth than Jack Weisenburger

Jack Weisenburger's first trip to the big leagues may not have been something that showed up on many preseason predictions, but on Sunday, the 28-year-old right-hander officially became a Major Leaguer—and he did just fine once he got there. Called up from Triple-A Syracuse before the game, Weisenburger made his MLB debut and tossed two scoreless innings allowing just one hit while striking out two. The Rockford, Michigan native was originally selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 20th round of the 2019 draft and has spent six seasons working his way through the minor leagues, including time in both the A's and Mets organizations. This season at Syracuse, he was 1-5 with a 7.22 ERA over 14 appearances, so nobody was exactly expecting him to stroll into the big leagues and look like Sandy Koufax. But on Sunday, Weisenburger looked comfortable on the mound and gave the Mets two very solid innings. And then there was Gary Cohen, who managed to refer to him not once but twice as a “Wisenheimer.” Technically, a wisenheimer is a smart aleck or wise guy—which, considering the kid just made his major league debut, might be the most Mets-broadcast way possible to welcome him to the big leagues. Whatever you call him, **Jack Weisenburger is officially a Major Leaguer.