Strikeouts, Missed Chances Cost Mets in 4-3 Extra-Inning Loss to Pirates

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

Mets record: 2-1

Mets streak: Lost 1

WP - Dennis Santana (1-0)

LP - Richard Lovelady (1-1)

Seat on the Korner: Ryan O'Hearn

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.

Tonight's coveted seat on the Korner goes to Ryan O'Hearn, who delivered in both the opening inning and again when it mattered most in extra innings. O’Hearn got the Pirates on the board early with a first-inning RBI single that scored Oneil Cruz and set the tone for a game in which Pittsburgh would find ways to manufacture runs when the Mets couldn't. After adding another base hit in the third, he came through in the 10th inning with the biggest swing of the game, lining a go-ahead RBI single to center to give Pittsburgh a 3–2 lead they would not relinquish. With two RBI, multiple key hits, and a steady presence in the middle of the lineup, O’Hearn was the offensive catalyst who consistently answered whenever the Pirates needed a spark, making him the clear standout performer of the night. And while the late Ralph Kiner always enjoyed having the home club on his iconic postgame show, he would no doubt take some consolation knowing the seat was occupied by a player representing the Pirate franchise that once retired his No. 4. Digging into our virtual Kiner’s Korner gift storage unit, we’ll hand Ryan a Getty Gift Card for a night well spent.

Need to Know

• With today's loss the Mets have won eight of their last ten contests against the Pirates at Citi Field and are 37-20 against the Pirates all-time since the park opened.

• Nolan McLean made his 2026 debut today...In 2025, he was called up on August 16 and posted a 2.06 ERA (11 ER/48.0 IP) with a 5-1 record and 57

  strikeouts through his first eight career starts…His ERA is the

  third-best in franchise history through a player's first eight

  career starts, only trailing Terry Leach's 1.68 ERA and Rick

  Aguilera's 1.92 ERA...His 57 strikeouts are the third-most in

  franchise history through a pitcher's first eight career games,

  only trailing Nolan Ryan's 64 and Dwight Gooden's 59.

• Coming into play today the only player on the Pirates who has seen McLean in a Major League game is Marcell Ozuna (0-for-3, K).

• Carmen Mlodzinski got the start for Pittsburgh in the finale of this three-game series in New York...Mlodzinski posted a 1.63 ERA (55.1ip/10er) in his final 23 appearances (three starts) of the 2025 season (from June 21 onward), the best mark among Major League pitchers (minimum 50.0 innings) in that time...He ended the year on a 12.0-inning scoreless streak.

• The Mets have had limited at bats against Mlodzinski coming into the game today, Francisco Alvarez (1-1, 2B), Brett Baty (0-2, K), Bo Bichette (0-1, BB), Francisco Lindor (0-1), Jorge Polanco (0-1), Luis Robert Jr. (0-2, 2 BB), Marcus Semien (0-0, BB), Juan Soto (0-2, K), Tyrone Taylor (1-2, 2B), Luis Torrens (1-1), Mark Vientos (0-3, K).

• The Mets are now 698-628 all-time at Citi Field...The team went 48-32 at the ballpark in 2025.

• Brett Baty playing in his 304th time as a major leaguer, started at First Base for the first time in his career, a move that signals the Mets are keeping versatility on the table this early in the season. Meanwhile, the rest of the lineup stays mostly intact, with small adjustments rather than sweeping changes—because nothing says “Sunday” like a lineup that looks familiar but slightly rearranged.

• Francisco Lindor recorded his first two March hits in his Mets career.

  
  
  
  

Turning Point

Once again, much like yesterday in a game that had been tied at 2 since the 5th inning, this contest featured several subtle, “low-key” turning points that could be debated, but the decisive moment came in the bottom of the 7th, when the New York Mets had two runners in scoring position and their No. 2 and No. 3 hitters—Juan Soto and Bo Bichette—coming to the plate after a wild pitch advanced both Francisco Lindor and Luis Torrens into prime scoring position; instead of taking the lead, both Soto and Bichette struck out, leaving the inning scoreless, and that missed opportunity loomed large as the Mets failed to convert one of their best chances of the game and carried that lost momentum into extra innings.

A convincing case could be made for third base coach Tim Leiper’s decision to send Francisco Lindor on Juan Soto’s double with no one out in the 10th, but had Soto or Bichette delivered a single in that 7th inning, the game likely never reaches the 10th inning, making that stranded opportunity the true pivot point of the night.

Three Keys

Not So Special K

If there was a defining theme on the night, it was strikeouts—and not the good kind. The Mets fanned 16 times as a team, with every player who stepped to the plate recording at least one strikeout, an unusually unproductive showing that stalled any consistent offensive rhythm. In fact, history was made for all the wrong reasons, as this marked the first time in New York Mets history that the top three hitters in the lineup—Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette—each struck out in their first two plate appearances. When your table-setters and middle-of-the-order bats are consistently coming up empty, rallies never fully materialize, and that was the story here as the Mets’ offense repeatedly struck out of potential innings before they could develop.

At the center of that early-season struggle has been Bo Bichette, whose slow start at the plate has been reflected not just in the results but in the swing-and-miss. Through the first three games, Bichette has gone just 1-for-14 with 7 strikeouts, including a 0-for-5, three-strikeout night in this one. Following the game, Bichette acknowledged the inconsistency, noting, “Sometimes in-between, sometimes trying to do too much. That’s pretty much what happens when you don’t feel good.” He also addressed the reaction from Mets fans after his early 1-for-11, seven-strikeout stretch, saying, “If anything, I thought it took too long. I get it. I thought my at-bats were terrible, too.” For a hitter expected to anchor the middle of the lineup, the combination of swing-and-miss and self-awareness underscores both the urgency and the adjustment period as he looks to settle into his role.

Lowe and Behold

One of the early offensive storylines belonged to Brandon Lowe, who has torched the New York Mets through the first three games of the season. In the opener on March 26, Lowe set the tone with a power display, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI, and two runs scored. He followed that up on March 28 by staying productive with a 1-for-5 effort, and then continued his strong start in the series finale on March 29, going 2-for-3 with another home run, an RBI, and two walks, showing both power and patience at the plate. Over these three games, Lowe has consistently been in the middle of rallies for the Pirates, driving the ball with authority while also reaching base at a high clip, making him one of the most dangerous and reliable bats in the early season..

When Pen-menship Counts, Pirates Had the Edge

Coming into the game, it appeared the New York Mets might hold a bullpen edge, as key arms like Justin Lawrence, Dennis Santana, and Gregory Soto had each pitched in consecutive games, while the group of Mason Montgomery, Yohan Ramírez, and Isaac Mattson had been rested but still carried heavier workloads from Thursday, each logging at least 36 pitches. Despite that potential advantage on paper, the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen delivered across the board, with Ramírez providing 1.2 scoreless innings, followed by clean outings from Montgomery and Mattson, before Dennis Santana added another inning of scoreless work in earning the win. On the other side, Richard Lovelady, who had been efficient in a 22-pitch winning appearance the previous day, was unable to replicate that sharpness, ultimately taking the loss after struggling to contain Pittsburgh in the decisive 10th inning.