Pirates go down swinging in loss to Mets, setting single-season strikeout record

That the Pittsburgh Pirates set a single-season franchise record for strikeouts Saturday night was fitting, given the way they whiffed a dozen times against the New York Mets.

The Pirates began the game with a strikeout by Oneil Cruz (his first of four), had four innings start with a strikeout and twice went down swinging with runners in scoring position.

Chris Bassitt recorded eight strikeouts in six shutout innings, and Eduardo Escobar hit a three-run home run as the Mets beat the Pirates, 5-1, for their third consecutive win in the four-game series at Citi Field.

After a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates will attempt to avoid being swept by the NL East-leading Mets when Jacob deGrom faces Johan Oviedo in the series finale at 1:40 p.m. Sunday.

Where the Pirates were stymied by the swing-and-miss, they gave the Mets plenty of free passes. Despite getting only five hits, the Mets had 17 baserunners, as they drew eight walks and had four batters hit by pitches. They stranded 12 but twice scored on bases-loaded walks.

“We cannot give up free passes, especially to a club like this,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “They control the zone. They make you throw the ball on the plate, and we scattered the ball way too much.”

Pirates starter Bryse Wilson (3-9), who gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings, struck out the first two batters he faced in retiring the side in order in the first but ran into trouble in the second.

Pete Alonso hit a bloop over the outstretched glove of first baseman Michael Chavis and into shallow right field for a leadoff double, and Daniel Vogelbach drew a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and third. Escobar sent Wilson’s first-pitch fastball 426 feet into the bullpen in right-center for his 18th home run and a 3-0 Mets lead.

“The walk to Vogey’s not a bad walk, just because of the fact of the damage he can do when you’ve got a base open,” Shelton said. “The next pitch to (Escobar), we have to make sure we execute the pitch. It was almost we just tried to throw a strike there, and we threw a strike to a guy that can hit the fastball. And he hit it out.”

It was the 19th homer allowed this season by Wilson, tying Zach Thompson for the team high.

“Where we were going with that pitch, up and away, is a good pitch to him,” Wilson said. “I just didn’t execute it.”

The Pirates had runners in scoring position in the fourth and sixth innings but came up empty both times. After Rodolfo Castro hit a one-out double in the fourth and Ben Gamel followed with a walk, Ke’Bryan Hayes flew out to center and Cal Mitchell went down swinging at a curveball low and away. That set a franchise record for most strikeouts in a season, breaking the mark of 1,354 set in 2012.

In the sixth, Castro hit a two-out single to right, Gamel drew another walk and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. This time, Bassitt got Hayes swinging at a curveball low and outside.

Lefty Eric Stout replaced Wilson with one on and out in the sixth, then walked pinch hitter Mark Vientos and Escobar to load the bases. Stout struck out James McCann but walked Brandon Nimmo on four pitches to score Tyler Naquin for a 4-0 Mets lead.

The Mets stretched their lead to 5-0 in the eighth, when Chase De Jong hit Jeff McNeil with a pitch to load the bases then walked Alonso to score Escobar.

The Pirates scored their lone run when Castro, who went 3 for 4 with a double, led off the ninth by driving David Peterson’s first-pitch fastball 413 feet to right-center for his 10th home run.

It landed in the bullpen, same as Escobar’s homer. But Escobar’s three-run shot was clearly the difference in a game where the Pirates missed the mark far too often.

“I feel like it’s the same thing every start: It’s just execution, execution and the one un-executed pitch ends up scoring runs,” Wilson said. “I have to work to get where that doesn’t happen.”