Looking to shake his squad out of its slump Adidas Ryan Kesler Jersey , Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle juggled the top of his lineup.
Didn’t hurt that the Pirates ran into the perfect opponent, too – a team struggling even worse than they were.
Josh Bell hit a two-run homer, Gregory Polanco also went deep and Pittsburgh took advantage of some dreadful defense by the New York Mets to snap a five-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory Monday night.
”If it’s broken you have to fix it, right?” said Bell, who batted second. ”Changing things up. It might have been the spark that we needed.”
In a series opener between tumbling teams, Pittsburgh built a five-run cushion for Jameson Taillon and held on to hand the Mets their seventh straight defeat before a mostly quiet crowd of 22,135. New York (31-45) is 6-24 in its last 30 games – and that 11-1 start to the season feels like ancient history.
Playing at home has hardly helped. The reeling Mets, with the fewest wins in the National League, have lost 14 of 15 at Citi Field, falling to 13-25 in their own ballpark this season.
”It’s tough,” rookie manager Mickey Callaway said. ”We need to start playing better baseball to win some games.”
After totaling only eight runs during their skid, the Pirates shuffled the first three hitters in their batting order. Leadoff man Starling Marte stole two bases and scored three times as Pittsburgh, which was in first place on May 17, won for only the 11th time in 35 games.
”We’re just looking for anything to kick-start us. Different guys hitting in different spots, maybe getting some different pitches to hit,” Taillon said. ”So I think it was fun. I think it was good to mix things up. If you do the same thing over and over, you’re crazy. So we mix it and we got some results.”
Taillon (5-6) took a two-hit shutout into the seventh inning against a makeshift Mets lineup before New York tried to rally. Consecutive doubles by Jose Reyes and Kevin Plawecki chased Taillon, and a three-run homer by pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores off Tyler Glasnow trimmed Pittsburgh’s lead to 5-4.
Steven Brault entered and threw seven straight balls before recovering to strike out Jose Bautista on a pitch in the dirt. Brault then got Asdrubal Cabrera to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Cabrera also committed an earlier error at second base.
Kyle Crick pitched out of trouble in the eighth , and Elias Diaz provided an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth. Felipe Vazquez struck out the side for his 15th save in 19 attempts.
”That’s the way you’re looking for your closer to finish the game,” Hurdle said. ”That’s as good as he’s pitched all season.”
Two errors in the first three innings by rookie third baseman Luis Guillorme – touted as a slick fielder – led directly to a pair of unearned runs against Mets starter Seth Lugo (2-3).
”Didn’t make the plays,” Guillorme said. ”I should be able to play anywhere they put me.”
Josh Harrison hit a sacrifice fly in the first, Polanco had a solo homer in the second and Diaz delivered a two-out RBI single in the third.
It was only the second home run since May 12 for Polanco, who came off the bench the previous three days.
Bell sliced a two-run shot into the left-field corner in the sixth, his first homer since May 31 at St. Louis. Bell has three homers in four career games at Citi Field, where Pittsburgh has won 11 of its last 16.
”Everyone contributed something,” Hurdle said. ”Marte has the ability to change a game up top, just to really get you going.”
In the wake of Arizona’s four-game sweep at Pittsburgh last weekend, Hurdle spoke to his team.
”I felt we just needed as a group to recommit to some things,” he said.
ROSTER MOVE
Needing a fresh arm in the bullpen, the Mets recalled RHP Tyler Bashlor from Double-A Binghamton and optioned RHP Chris Flexen to Triple-A Las Vegas. The 25-year-old Bashlor made his major league debut in the sixth and worked two innings, giving up Bell’s two-run homer.
DOWN ON THE FARM
Pirates minor leaguer Oddy Nunez pitched a rain-shortened no-hitter Sunday for Class A Bradenton in the Florida State League. Nunez struck out six and walked two over eight innings in a 5-0 win against Fort Myers.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: OF Brandon Nimmo didn’t start because of a sore right pinkie after getting hit by a pitch Sunday. But an MRI showed no broken bones and he is day to day. ”Real good news Adidas Clayton Keller Jersey ,” a relieved Callaway said. Nimmo entered as a pinch-runner in the eighth and stayed in the game to play left field. … Flores and 3B Todd Frazier were rested. Frazier lined out to center field as a pinch-hitter. … 3B David Wright (shoulder, back) took batting practice and grounders on the field.
UP NEXT
Pirates RHP Chad Kuhl (5-5, 4.56 ERA) starts Tuesday night against LHP Steven Matz (3-5, 3.68).
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It was a long and odd day, one that started with teenager Juan Soto homering in a game that officially was played before he made his major league debut.
Huh?
Soto delivered a tiebreaking, pinch-hit, two-run shot in the sixth inning of a game that began and was suspended because of rain last month, five days before he was called up from the minors for the first time, to lift the Washington Nationals to a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees in the opener of an unusual semi-doubleheader Monday.
”Geez, he has a bright future. How old is he, 19? You don’t see too many 19-year-olds doing what he’s doing,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said about Soto. ”I’m excited to see him develop for years to come.”
In Game 2, Judge made two key catches of balls hit by Trea Turner, including one on the warning track that bailed out Aroldis Chapman with two men on in the bottom of the ninth to end it, and the Yankees grabbed a 4-2 victory with the help of Aaron Hicks‘ go-ahead two-run homer.
That final-out fly ”got me to hold my breath for a sec,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
Throw in a trade by Washington to add reliever Kelvin Herrera from the Kansas City Royals, full-throated chants of ”Let’s go, Yankees!” from portions of the sellout crowd of 42,723, and all in all, so much happened at Nationals Park.
”That,” Nationals closer Sean Doolittle said, summing up things neatly, ”was weird.”
Game 1 resumed with the score 3-all and the Nationals about to bat in the bottom of the sixth. After Bryce Harper – who had a full beard back on May 15, when the game began, but was clean-shaven this time – struck out, and Anthony Rendon singled, Soto drove a 97 mph fastball from Chad Green (4-1) to the back of the second deck in right field.
”I thought he had a good chance to hit the ball hard,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. ”That was hard.”
It was Soto’s sixth homer since he was brought up from Double-A Harrisburg on May 20 – and half have come against the Yankees. Soto stood and admired this one before beginning his trot around the bases.
”A lot of people tell me, `Hey, you’re killing the Yankees Adidas Patrice Bergeron Jersey ,'” Soto said. ”Everybody knows the Yankees, likes the Yankees. That feels pretty good.”
Soto also was involved in a double play while playing left in the seventh. Didi Gregorius lined to Soto, and he lobbed the ball to shortstop Turner, who sprinted to second base to double off Gary Sanchez.
Soto’s stats – and all others from Game 1 – will count as being part of the originally scheduled game on May 15, but Soto’s debut will still be considered to have come on the actual date it happened, May 20, according to the Nationals, citing the Elias Sports Bureau.
Wander Suero (1-0) got the win for 1 1-3 scoreless innings – one inning on May 15, and one out on Monday.
Doolittle struck out Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, then got Sanchez to fly out to center in the ninth for his 18th save.
The Nationals had lost five of six games entering the day.
Game 2, which was completely rained out May 16, began a half-hour after Game 1 finished, and Washington led 2-1 before Hicks’ ninth homer, which came in the fifth against Erick Fedde (0-2) and got plenty of Yankees fans excited – and loud.
The rookie righty lost to the Yankees for the second time in less than a week, giving up three runs in 5 1-3 innings this time.
Stanton provided some cushion with an RBI double off Sammy Solis in the seventh, part of a 4-for-5 showing in Game 2.
Sonny Gray (5-4) allowed two runs in five-plus innings, with Mark Reynolds driving in both.
HARPER’S DAY
Harper’s batting average is .212 after he went 0 for 5 on Monday, with two strikeouts, three groundouts and a walk. He has one hit in his last 27 at-bats. ”He’s just in one of those little funks, where you’re kind of happy to face him right now,” Boone said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: OF Brett Gardner didn’t play, a day after an MRI exam showed swelling in his right knee. Boone doesn’t expect Gardner to go on the DL.
Nationals: RHP Jeremy Hellickson, on the DL for two weeks with a strained right hamstring, took fielding practice before the start of play Monday and said he ”felt fine.” Hellickson has taken two bullpen sessions and ”felt 100 percent,” so expects to be able to return soon. … 1B Matt Adams was ”still a little sore” after getting hit by a pitch on a finger Friday and did not play.
ROSTER MOVE
The Yankees returned right-hander Giovanny Gallegos to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game. Gallegos had been called up as the 26th man for the nightcap Monday.
UP NEXT
Yankees: Open a three-game set against visiting Seattle, with RHP Domingo German (1-4, 5.23 ERA) pitching Tuesday.
Nationals: Begin a three-game series at home against Baltimore on Tuesday, with Jefry Rodriguez on the mound for his second major league appearance and first start.
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