Álvarez, Ramirez help Pittsburgh Pirates sweep Mets with 8-1 win

Coming off a victory on Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates (67-46) faced the New York Mets (63-54) in game three of a three-game set on Sunday. The Pirates started off the game strong, getting out to an early 1-0 lead. And even after the Mets tied the score at one, the Pirates’ offense erupted after a rain delay to help take the game by a final score of 8-1.

In the top of the second inning, Pedro Álvarez homered to right center field off of Mets’ starter Matt Harvey to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. With that home run, Álvarez is now tied for the team lead in home runs with Andrew McCutchen at 18.

In the bottom of the second inning, New York’s Travis d’Arnaud homered to left field off Pittsburgh starter Jeff Locke to tie the game at one.

In the top of the seventh inning, after a lengthy rain delay, with on Pedro Florimon third base and after a throwing error by Mets’ pitcher Bobby Parnell, Gregory Polanco singled to center field, scoring Florimon and giving the Pirates’ a 2-1 advantage. Later in the inning, with Sean Rodriguez on third, Rodriguez scored on a passed ball by d’Arnaud to extend the Pittsburgh lead to 3-1.

Later in the seventh, with Polanco on second and Neil Walker on first, Aramis Ramirez singled to left, scoring Polanco to give the Pirates a 4-1 lead. On that play, while looking to add to the lead, Walker was thrown out at home.

Later in the inning, with Ramirez on second, Álvarez singled to left field, scoring Ramirez, and giving the Pirates the 5-1 lead, and some extra insurance heading into the later innings.

In the top of the eighth, with Rodriguez on third base, Starling Marte hit an infield single to score Rodriguez, advancing the Pittsburgh lead to 6-1.

And later in that inning, with Marte on second and Walker on first, Ramirez hit a double to deep center field, scoring both Marte and Walker, giving the Pirates the 8-1 lead, which would also be the final score on the day.

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What Stood Out

Coming into Sunday’s game, Pittsburgh had been held to both one-run and two-run wins on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Late on Sunday the Pirates’ bats were on fire, scoring seven of their eight runs in the later innings.

Álvarez and Ramirez, who had two and three RBIs, respectively, were the key players of the game for Pittsburgh, being involved in more than half of the Pirates’ eight run total.

The bullpen also continues to become an even greater strengh for the team, as both Antonio Bastardo and Arquimedes Caminero gave solid outings in a winning effort.

What’s Next

Coming off this sweep of the Mets, the Pittsbugh Pirates head back home to host the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game series. To open the series, Pittsburgh sends Gerrit Cole (14-6, 2.48 ERA) out against the Diamondbacks’ Jeremy Hellickson (8-8, 4.73 ERA). Last time out versus the Cardinals, Cole went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits in a losing effort.

Next: Just how bad has the Pittsburgh Pirates' defense been this season?