Gut Reaction: Pirates 9, Mets 1 (6/27/25)
For the second straight start, David Peterson allowed five earned runs without completing five innings. Peterson dug the hole and Blade Tidwell threw gasoline on the fire and the end result was a 9-1 win for the Pirates in the opener of the three-game series.
There was so much hoopla surrounding Peterson out-pitching his peripherals. And it went so far that we heard that it was the “human element” for why Peterson was enjoying so much success. Now, two starts later, what do we see? Peterson has a 3.30 ERA and a 3.35 FIP. Woops, so much for the human element. Regression wins again.
Unfortunately, the Mets couldn’t win again and extend it to a three-game winning streak. And it was the old familiar refrain – a failure to hit with runners in scoring position. The Mets were 0-9 with RISP.
And when you’re so inept with ducks on the pond, you need to compensate with home runs. And the Mets only hit one, Juan Soto’s shot in the fourth inning. Soto now has 11 HR in June with two games still to play.
This game marked the return of Mark Vientos and the lineup featured Vientos-Brett Baty-Ronny Mauricio hitting 6th-7th-8th. Vientos took the collar, with two strikeouts in four trips to the plate. Baty had two doubles and reached base on what’s been initially ruled an error but may end up an infield single. Mauricio had a hit and a walk.
The Mets look to get back on track in the second game, with Paul Blackburn getting the ball in the 4:05 p.m. start.
What a let down after taking the last two from the Braves. Can’t win them all but a little more competitive hitting would have been appreciated.
It's Gary Cohen! He kept saying that various Pirate hitters were not good, and they would then hit the stuffings out of a pitch!