Gerrit Cole dominates in Pittsburgh Pirates’ 4-1 win over New York Mets

Gerrit Cole may have had the best start of his major league career in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 4-1 win over the New York Mets on Friday night. Cole hurled 8.1 innings of one-run ball (unearned), striking out 10 and walking just one in the process. Cole lowered his ERA to 2.05 on the season and was the main reason why the Pirates took game one of this series.

Opposite Cole on the mound was rookie Noah Syndergaard, who had an average start, giving up four runs (three earned) over six innings on 99 pitches. Syndergaard’s ERA on the season now stands at 3.63.

The scoring started in the second inning when Gregory Polanco singled to right, scoring Pedro Alvarez. A Chris Stewart double would then bring Polanco in, giving the Pirates a 2-0 advantage after the second. The Mets would answer in the third when Juan Lagares scored on a wild pitch by Cole, cutting the Pirate lead in half. But Pittsburgh would tack on two more in the sixth on a Jung Ho Kang RBI single and an Alvarez sacrifice fly, making the score 4-1. Cole would pitch into the ninth but would be pulled with two on and one out after throwing 111 pitches on the evening. Mark Melancon would close out the game and earn his tenth save of the season.

What Stood Out

Gerrit Cole is having a Cy Young-worthy season and Friday night reaffirmed that. He was dominant in all aspects of the game, limiting his walks, pouring on the strikeouts, and keeping the ball low in the zone. Mets’ players only advanced past first base in the third inning (an inning involving an error by Josh Harrison) and not again until the ninth, when Cole walked his first and only batter of the game. The Pirates have had great starting pitching at the top end of their rotation for most of the season.

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Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen both had hits on the day as each tries to recover from a sub-par April. Harrison’s average is up to .255 while McCutchen’s is up to .240. Kang had another hit as his hot play hasn’t allowed Jordy Mercer to return to the field. The Pirates as a whole were 3-7 with runners in scoring position and have been better in that category as of late.

What’s Next

Another great pitching match-up looms as the Pittsburgh Pirates face off against the New York Mets at PNC Park on Saturday afternoon. Matt Harvey (5-1, 1.98 ERA) takes the mound for the Mets as he is also having a Cy Young-worthy season. A.J. Burnett (3-1, 1.38 ERA) has performed even better than Harvey as he takes the hill for the Pirates. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM.

Next: Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates Face Upstart New York Mets