Mets free fall continues as Carlos Mendoza gets ejected in ugly loss to Pirates
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.PITTSBURGH — Carlos Mendoza rearranged the deck chairs Saturday, but the Titanic still sank.Mark Vientos got placed into the lineup’s No.
2 hole — which has mostly been Brandon Nimmo or Starling Marte’s domain lately — with the idea it might jump-start the third baseman, who just returned from the injured list a day earlier, against a left-handed starting pitcher.Then it rained in the top of the second inning, and after a 1 ½-hour delay the Pirates changed pitchers.Mendoza stood pat with Paul Blackburn.
In the end, the Mets were left soggy: Blackburn got jumped right out of the delay, and the lineup continued its pattern of disappointment in a 9-2 loss to the lowly Pirates at PNC Park.Mendoza wasn’t around to watch much of it from the dugout; he was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes.Wasted was a mostly strong performance from the Mets bullpen, which pitched six scoreless innings before Huascar Brazobán surrendered four runs in the eighth.Now the Mets will have to figure out how to navigate Sunday’s series finale — reinforcements will be needed from Triple-A Syracuse — with a depleted bullpen.The Mets dropped their second straight to these NL Central basement dwellers and have lost 12 of 15 overall.Blackburn, in a third straight subpar start, allowed three earned runs over one inning on six hits with two strikeouts.
The right-hander, who has been thrust into the rotation because of injuries, saw his ERA jump to 7.71.Juan Soto’s RBI single in the first gave the Mets a 1-0 lead, but the Mets missed on chances to extend it.Nimmo was retired for the second out with runners on the corners, and after Pete Alonso stole second, Starling Marte struck out.The Pirates jumped on Blackburn immediately following the rain delay of 1 hour, 29 minutes.
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