Mets Game Recap: Pirates pound Matt Harvey en route to 8-2 victory over Mets

It was a bad day for the Dark Knight.

Matt Harvey struggled with poor command, particularly of his secondary pitches, in what became the shortest (and worst) outing of his brief career Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

May 23, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher

(33) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pirates wasted no time lighting the scoreboard en route to an 8-2 victory over the visiting Mets.

Leading-off the home 1st inning, third baseman Josh Harrison ripped Harvey’s first offering of the game to left field for a single.  Two batters later, former N.L. MVP Andrew McCutchen took Harvey deep to center field.

First baseman Pedro Alvarez then led-off the bottom of the 2nd inning with an equally deep home run to right field, giving the Bucs a 3-0 lead.

After lead-off singles by Juan Lagares and Lucas Duda to begin the 4th, Lagares scored the Mets first run on Daniel Murphy’s fielder’s choice.  Wilmer Flores singled to keep the rally going, but, Eric Campbell ended the threat by bouncing into a 4-6-3 double play.

The game really unraveled for Harvey in the bottom of the frame.  The end of his outing started with a 1-out single by shortstop Jung Ho Kang.  Pedro Alvarez then tagged Harvey again with a double to right, Kang scored.  Right fielder Gregory Polanco drew a walk.  With Francisco Cervelli at the plate, a Harvey wild pitch advanced the runners.  Harvey then walked Cervelli to load the bases.  Pirates starting pitcher A.J. Burnett helped his own cause with a sac-fly to center, Alvarez scored.  Josh Harrison then doubled the bases clean for a 7-1 Pittsburgh lead.

• Matt Harvey exited the game after just 4 innings pitched.  He faced 20 batters, and labored through 65 pitches with 46 going for strikes.  He was charged with 7 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts.  His record now sits at 5-2, while his ERA ballooned from 1.98 to a 2.91 mark.  Critiquing his own performance, Matt Harvey said, “It was just a really terrible outing.”

With Hansel Robles pitching in relief in the 7th, Andrew McCutchen struck a 1-out double, and was then lifted for a pinch-runner.  A throwing error by Eric Campbell soon allowed Sean Rodriguez to score Pittsburgh’s 8th run of the afternoon.

In the top of the 8th, of all people, Ruben Tejada homered to left field off reliever Antonio Bastardo, giving this game its 8-2 final score.

• Former Mets farm hand, and Pirates starter A.J. Burnett limited the Mets to one earned run on 5 hits, walked none, and fanned 10 batters.  He earned his 4th victory against just one loss.  He threw 99 pitches with 60 going for strikes.  His ERA dropped incrementally from an already miniscule 1.38, to a 1.37 mark.

The Mets have now lost 4 of their last 5, and with a 24-20 record, trail the 1st place Washington Nationals by 1.5 games in the standings.

• The Nationals committed 4 errors during an 8-1 Saturday loss to the Phillies.

Highlights:

• Tough day for Eric Campbell – 0 for 4; strikeout, GIDP, throwing error.

• Curtis Granderson – 0 for 3; 3 strikeouts.

• Making his first MLB start, Darrell Ceciliani went 0 for 4, with 3 strikeouts.

• Daniel Murphy – 3 for 4; leads team with 23 RBI.

• Matt Harvey’s streak of 16 consecutive scoreless innings ended.

• The Mets extended their MLB lead by bouncing into their 4th double-play of the series, and their 39th of the season.

Next:

5/24 – Sunday, 1:35pm

Mets @ PIRATES

Jon Niese vs. Francisco Liriano