Even though the Mets scored first against the basement-dwelling Pirates, they couldn’t find consistency at the plate to overcome the three earned runs Marcus Stroman gave up in his 18th outing of the year.
“To come into this year and to be at close to 100 innings before the break, that’s extremely accomplishing for me and that just shows the work ethic that went into this offseason.
Trevor May gave up a two-run homer in the fifth, and Drew Smith was charged with a run in the sixth to bury any chances of a late-inning comeback for the Mets.
Stroman began his start by retiring the first nine batters he faced, with a huge assist from center fielder Brandon Nimmo, who robbed a home run from Brian Reynolds in the first inning.
Stroman has gone five innings or fewer in three straight starts, though only his three-inning outing against the Phillies on June 27 was not part of a doubleheader.
Mets batters, including Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor who combined to go 0-for-6 in Game 1, were unable to build momentum.
“I thought he threw the ball well,” Rojas said.