The Pittsburgh Pirates don’t have to look far this week for an example of the confidence and good fortune that comes with doing a lot of the little things correctly.
The surging New York Mets will look to lock up another series win on Tuesday night when they host the Pirates in the middle contest of a three-game series.
Kodai Senga (4-2, 1.16 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against fellow right-hander Mitch Keller (1-4, 4.40).
The Mets earned their fourth walk-off win of the season on Monday following Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
New York ranks fourth in the National League in homers, slugging percentage and OPS. But the Mets’ fifth win in the last seven games was fueled by small ball.
New York scored twice without hitting the ball out of the infield in the seventh inning. Luisangel Acuna scored the go-ahead run by racing home from second after Alonso’s single off the glove of third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes dribbled into the outfield.
Francisco Lindor’s error helped the Pirates tie the score in the ninth. Lindor, however, reached with one out in the bottom half of the inning after his grounder up the middle bounced off the bag and past Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was charged with an error.
Lindor raced from first to third on Juan Soto’s single to right-center before trotting home on Alonso’s fly out in the Mets’ 4-3 victory.
“We’ve got some guys who can put up some good numbers offensively and hit the ball a long way and stuff like that,” Alonso said. “But at the end of the day, our identity is we’re just a scrappy team. We fight to the last out and that’s just who we are.”
Pittsburgh played its fourth straight one-run game Monday under new manager Don Kelly, who is 2-2 since taking over for Derek Shelton last Thursday.
Kiner-Falefa homered in the second inning before the Pirates benefited from small ball in the seventh and ninth.
In addition, Kiner-Falefa backed up Hayes and nearly threw out Acuna in the seventh, when his throw to the plate beat Acuna. Acuna, however, eluded the tag of catcher Henry Davis.
“Tough hops in the last inning, but we’re in these (games),” Kiner-Falefa said. “If we had another at-bat, I think we would have scored a run. I think there’s just a belief that hasn’t been here at all.”
Senga earned the victory last Wednesday after allowing two hits over six scoreless innings as the Mets beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-1. Keller took the loss Wednesday after giving up three runs over six innings as the Pirates fell to the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-0.
Senga won his lone previous start against the Pirates on June 10, 2023, when he gave up an unearned run over seven innings in the Mets’ 5-1 victory in Pittsburgh. Keller is 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA in four starts versus New York.
–Field Level Media
