Wet Clay Cracks, and Pirates Make Themselves at Holmes in 4-0 Win Over Mets

Pirates 4 Mets 0 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets Record: 28-16

Mets Streak: L1

Mets Last 10: 6-4

WP: Chase Shugart (2-3)

LP: Clay Holmes (5-2)

Seat On The Korner: Chase Shugart

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.

Tonight’s Seat on the Korner, our nightly nod to Ralph Kiner’s legendary postgame tradition, goes to Pirates reliever Chase Shugart, who stepped into a pressure-packed moment and never flinched. Entering with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth, and Pittsburgh clinging to a narrow 2-0 lead, Shugart calmly induced a flyout from José Azocar to escape the jam. Over 2.1 scoreless innings, the right-hander allowed just one hit — a single to Pete Alonso, who was gunned down trying to stretch it into a double. Shugart threw 30 pitches, 19 for strikes, and deftly maneuvered through the heart of the Mets lineup, facing Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos, Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, and Luis Torrens. He kept the Mets off balance and the scoreboard clean before handing the ball to Tanner Rainey. It was a poised and pivotal outing — one worthy of a prime spot in Ralph’s old studio chair.

Need To Know:

• The Mets completed a six-game homestand (4-2) against the Cubs (2-1) and Pirates (2-1).

• With the win the Pirates denied  the Mets their fourth sweep of

  the season.All three of their previous sweeps have occurred at home.The

  Mets swept the Pirates at Citi Field from April 15-17, 2024 and in a four-game

  set from September 15-18, 2022.

• Despite the tonights loss, New York has won 11 of their last 13 games against the Pirates at home.The Mets have now won 16 of their last 22 games against Pittsburgh.

• Francisco Lindor has safely reached base in 17 of his last 18 games.

• Mark Vientos is swinging a hot bat, hitting .364 (4-for-11) in the series with a double and a strikeout, and continuing his strong performance through the current homestand where he's batting .400 (8-for-20) with a double, home run, two RBIs, and three strikeouts.

• Clay Holmes after becoming just the sixth pitcher in franchise history to not allow a home run in his first seven career starts with the club,Clay Holmes has now allowed three over his last two starts.

• Falter took a no-decision tonight after tossing 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, five walks, and striking out three...He is now 1-3 with a 3.41 ERA (27.0 IP/10 ER) in seven career appearances (six starts) against the Mets...At Citi Field, Falter has a 3.00 ERA (17.0 IP/5 ER) with 14 strikeouts in four career starts...He is now one strikeout shy of 300 for his career

• Brandon Nimmo has hit safely in his last seven games, going 8-for-25 (.320) with a home run, three doubles, three RBIs, three runs scored, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, and a stolen base.

• Andrew McCutchen went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout tonight, moving him to 1,698 hits as a member of the Pirates—just two shy of 1,700 and 11 away from tying Arky Vaughan (1,709) for ninth on the franchise's all-time hits list...With 2,183 career hits, McCutchen moved past Keith Hernandez for 196th on the all-time MLB hits list and is now just two hits away from tying Joe Carter (2,185) for 195th...He remains third among all active players in hits, trailing only Freddie Freeman (2,308) and Jose Altuve (2,273).

• Tommy Pham, two days removed from his one-game suspension, did not get into the game, even though he has a .339 average and .437 on-base percentage in 35 career games against the Mets.

  
  

Turning Point:

The turning point of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning, when both managers made curious decisions that ultimately worked in the Pirates' favor. After Brandon Nimmo and Luis Torrens reached with singles and Tyrone Taylor popped out on the infield fly rule, Luisangel Acuña drew a walk to load the bases with two outs.  Pirates acting manager Don Kelly made a surprising call pulling starter Bailey Falter after just 78 pitches in favor of right-hander Chase Shugart .With lefties Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty, and Juan Soto available on the bench, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza stuck with José Azocar, a right-handed hitter, despite the matchup. Shugart needed only one pitch to get Azocar to line out to center, stranding all three runners and preserving Pittsburgh’s slim lead. What could have been a momentum-shifting rally for New York instead turned into a missed opportunity, as the Pirates escaped the jam unscathed.

Three Keys:

Holmes Loses Grip in the Rain—Literally and Figuratively

Clay Holmes’ night was derailed by a combination of rain and missed calls, a frustrating twist after a smooth start. After retiring the Pirates in order in the first inning, Holmes opened the second with two quick outs—getting Joey Bart to fly out to right and Alexander Canario to ground out to third. But just as he seemed to be cruising, the rain began to fall, gradually intensifying between Canario’s out and Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s plate appearance. Kiner-Falefa would line a single to left, and as the downpour worsened, Holmes’ facing Matt Gorski with two outs, Holmes got ahead in the count, but two borderline pitches—both appearing to catch the zone—were called balls. Fighting the slippery conditions and now visibly disrupted, command began to wave, a wild pitch advanced Kiner-Falefa to second, then Holmes left a pitch over the plate, and Gorski launched just the second home run Holmes had allowed all season, a two-run shot to left center that gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead. The inning would end with a flyout, but the damage—both from the elements and the swing—was done.

Took Four Years But it was a Raccoon.

There was unexpected wildlife drama at Citi Field tonight—no, not in the bullpen, but in the stands, where a raccoon made an unscheduled appearance and briefly stole the show. For longtime Mets fans, the furry intruder instantly stirred memories of the infamous 2021 clubhouse incident when Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil got into a scuffle over the identity of a mystery creature in the tunnel. Lindor swore it was a rat, McNeil said raccoon—then clarified he actually meant possum—and chaos ensued. Well, tonight the truth finally scurried into the spotlight: it was, and always has been, a raccoon. Consider this victory lap for McNeil, who might have just won the weirdest long game in Mets history.

Pirates’ Shutdown Crew Makes Mets Walk the Plank

The Pirates bullpen was nothing short of brilliant on the night, slamming the door shut over the final 5.1 innings to preserve a shutout win. After starter Bailey Falter exited in the fourth, Chase Shugart entered in a bases-loaded jam and calmly induced a flyout to end the threat, then followed with two more scoreless frames to earn the win. Tanner Rainey kept the momentum going with a clean sixth, working around a hit while not issuing a walk. David Bednar followed with a dominant eighth, striking out two in a perfect inning, and flame-throwing righty Dennis Santana closed it out with a scoreless ninth. Altogether, the Pirates bullpen allowed just three baserunners and struck out three, combining for 5.1 innings of shutout ball that sealed the victory and underscored the unit’s depth and effectiveness.

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