Pittsburgh Pirates: Quinn Priester Turns in Another Poor Start, Bucs Fall 7-2 Against the Mets

Another poor start for Quinn Priester and 11 strikeouts from the Pittsburgh Pirates offense led to a 7-2 loss against the New York Mets

Coming off a homestand against two postseason quality teams that saw the Pittsburgh Pirates go 3-4, there was hope the team could put together a strong series against a bad New York Mets team. Well, if the Pirates are going to win this series they will need to win back-to-back games.

Monday night the Pirates fell to the Mets 7-2 in the opening game of this four-game series.

Bryan Reynolds, Ke'Bryan Hayes keep igniting the offense

In recent weeks, Bryan Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes have both been red hot at the plate for the Pirates. They both stayed hot on Monday night, this included teaming up to help spark some early offense for the Bucs.

Reynolds walked in the 1st inning Hayes singled. Then with two outs in the inning, Reynolds scored on a Henry Davis single to make the score 1-0 Pirates. Unfortunately, Davis would get picked off first base to end the inning. He also failed to stay in a rundown long enough to allow Hayes to score before he was tagged out.

In the 3rd inning, Hayes struck again. This time it was a double for Hayes, a double that scored Connor Joe who had also doubled to tie the game at 2. This gave Hayes 12 RBI thus far in the month of August.

The two nearly tag teamed for runs again in the 4th inning. After Reynolds drew a two-out walk to put two runners on base, Hayes hit a deep fly ball to right field but it was caught on the warning track. Hayes just missed a 3-run home run, keeping the score at 3-2 Mets.

Quinn Priester continues to struggle

Things have not gone anywhere near according to plan for former first-round pick Quinn Priester since he made his MLB debut last month. His first 5 MLB starts were poor and start number 6 did not go any better.

The Mets got their lead off man on base in 4 of 5 innings against Priester who allowed at least 1 run in each inning he pitched. Priester pitched 5 innings allowing 6 runs on seven hits, three walks, two home runs, three strikeouts, and he threw two wild pitches.

Unfortunately, the struggles for Priester could be seen coming from a mile away. The past two seasons in the minor league Priester's development really plateaued. This created plenty of concern before Priester even reached the majors about his ability to success in the majors. Thus far, Priester looks like a pitcher who does not belong anywhere near a MLB roster and one without a future in a MLB starting rotation.

Osvaldo Bido helps save the bullpen

Osvaldo Bido was summoned after Priester's day ended. With the Pirates having played a doubleheader on Sunday there is a good chance that Bido was going to be asked to pitch the rest of the game regardless if he was effective or not.

To Bido's credit, he did not just pitch the final 3 innings he pitched an effective 3 innings. Bido allowed just two hits with the lone run he allowed coming on a solo home run. A tip of the cap to Bido for helping to save the bullpen the day after a doubleheader taxed the group.

Next up

Former Met NL East foe Bailey Falter (5.21 ERA, 5.01 FIP) is slated to make his third Pirate start since being acquired at the trade deadline. Fellow left David Peterson (5.61 ERA, 4.44 FIP) is set to start for the Mets. First pitch from Citi Field is scheduled for 7:05 PM ET.