Robbery! Mets Steal One From the Pirates

shaikushner
May 13
3 min read

Mets 4 Pirates 3 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets Record: 27-15

Mets Streak: W2

Mets Last 10: 6-4

WP: Huascar Brazoban (2-0)

LP: David Bednar (0-4)

Seat On The Korner: Luisangel Acuña

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.

It wasn't always pretty, but the fleet feet of Luisangel Acuña were at the core of the Mets win tonight. A 1-4 night in which the one hit was a single may not sound especially impressive. Add to that a misplayed grounder in the top of the 9th that allowed the tying run to score, and it would seem hard to imagine giving that player such a prized seat. Still, it's what the rookie infielder (and potentially sometimes outfielder) did in the bottom of the 7th that earned him the coveted spot. With the Mets down 2-1, Acuña followed a Tyrone Taylor HBP with an infield single, barely beating the pitcher to the bag on what looked like a relatively routine grounder to first. A couple batters later, with the score now tied at 2, Acuña went from second to home on a Pete Alonso ground ball single that just barely made it past the infield dirt after hitting off third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes' glove. Even with his speed, the throw beat Acuña home, but a nifty slide got him in there safely. The Pirates challenged, but the safe call was upheld and the Mets took a 3-2 lead.

Need To Know:

Ralph Kiner's son Scott was on hand to sign copies of his newly-released book, One of a Kiner, prior to today's game. And that's not all the Kiner-related news...
Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a relative of Ralph's (and Scott's) got to meet and exchange gifts with his distant family. After years of trying to convince people that he was actually related to the Hall-of-Fame outfielder, Scott Kiner was able to confirm it.
With the win, the Mets improved to 16-4 at Citi Field this season. Their .800 winning percentage at home is second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers (.833).
The Mets are once again 12 games above .500, matching their season high.
Francisco Lindor has reached base safely in 15 of his last 16 games. And over his last 25 games, he's batting .346 with 19 runs scored, 8 walks, 3 doubles, 8 home runs, and 20 RBIs.
The Mets have now won 15 of their last 20 games against Pittsburgh.
Taylor's hit-by-pitch in the 7th inning increased the Mets league-leading total to 25.
Down on the farm, INF/OF Ryan Clifford and Pitcher Jonah Tong were selected as Eastern League Minor League Player and Pitcher of the week.

Turning Point:

During a sloppy top of the 9th, highlighted (or lowlighted) by a key Francisco Lindor error cost the Mets the lead, the Pirates had the potential leading run on third and a potential insurance run on first with just one out and Bryan Reynolds at the plate. Mets reliever Huascar Brazoban was able to induce a grounder to second and the Mets slick-fielding returned in time to turn the 4-6-3 double play, and keep the game tied at 3 heading into the bottom of the 9th.

Three Keys:

Quality:

Mets starting pitcher David Peterson earned a quality start, pitching into the 7th inning for the first time all season. He finished with 6+ innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits with 3 walks while striking out 7, including a big K with runners on the corners and 2 outs in the top of the 5th.

Piracy

Despite some defensive challenges by each team tonight, Mets leftfielder Brandon Nimmo had the play of the game when he robbed Pirates DH Joey Bart of extra bases and possibly a home run with this catch in the top of the 8th inning.

Re-Pete Performance

You didn't think we'd get to the end of this without telling how the Mets won the game, did you? After giving up the lead in the top of the 9th, the Mets used the one-out Kiner-Falefa error, and a Juan Solo single to right, to give them first and third. It was a similar setup to what the Pirates had in the top of the inning. However, instead of grounding into a double play, Pete Alonso hit one to relatively deep right field, easily deep enough to bring Lindor, and the win, home. It was Alonso's 8th career walk-off RBI, putting him third in Mets history behind David Wright (9) and Wilmer Flores (10).