NEW YORK — The Pirates were introduced to the latest New York City pitching phenom Sunday afternoon. From 60 feet, six inches, they shook hands with Matt Harvey and proceeded to treat him as if he were a degree or two short of phenomenal. They bruised him but didn’t beat him. Instead, they scored once against the Mets’ bullpen in the eighth inning and won, 3-2.
The victory, the Bucs’ third in four games here, put their record five games over .500 for the third time this season.
A two-out base hit by Pedro Alvarez against closer Bobby Parnell scored Andrew McCutchen with the run that made a winning pitcher of rookie Justin Wilson and a loser of rookie Scott Rice, putting the Pirates’ record in one-run games at 3-6 and their road record at 11-9.
The Pirates survived a threat in the eighth inning that ended with a freakish play, a ground ball by Lucas Duda caroming up off the first-base bag and to second baseman Brandon Inge, who threw to pitcher Mark Melancon, covering first. All that with runners on second and third.
Melancon was replaced in the ninth by Jason Grilli, who earned his 15th save in 15 opportunities.
Obscured somewhat by all the late developments were five fine innings by starter Jeanmar Gomez, who was removed because of soreness in his right calf, the result of being struck by a batted ball in the first. But Harvey was the pitcher of note in this game.
Harvey surrendered two runs — one on a home run by Clint Barmes in the third inning — on five hits and two walks in seven innings. But he remained unbeaten through eight starts, demonstrating as much spine Sunday as he had demonstrated stuff in the previous appearances.
The Mets spared Harvey a loss by tying the game at 2 in the seventh inning against Wilson, Gomez’s second successor. Wilson had been summoned to replace Vin Mazzaro in the sixth with one runner on base and left-handed Ike Davis due to bat. Wilson struck out Davis, and then Duda to begin the seventh. But a walk to John Buck, a wild pitch and a soft, opposite-field single to left by Mike Baxter put the Mets even.
Something seemed amiss with Harvey early, given his dominance this season. He allowed three hits, two walks, two runs and hit a batter before his first strikeout — this from a pitcher who allowed one base runner and struck out 12 in nine innings in his previous start, against the White Sox.
Alvarez hit a booming double in the second inning, two batters before Barmes hit his home run to lead off the third. Gomez followed with a well-struck sinking line drive to center that was caught twice by rookie Juan Lagares. Then Harvey walked Starling Marte and allowed a single to left by Travis Snider that advanced Marte to third. Marte had been running on the pitch.
Without his best stuff and lacking the precision he had demonstrated in most of his previous appearances, Harvey seemingly pitched around McCutchen to load the bases. Garrett Jones then drove in Marte with a sacrifice fly to right that put the Pirates ahead, 2-1. Harvey retired Jordy Mercer to end the inning. And his first strikeout didn’t occur until the fourth batter of the fourth inning. Gomez was the victim.
The Pirates produced two base runners in the subsequent three innings. But the Mets offered almost no resistance — one walk in 14 plate appearances — until the seventh. They had scored in the second on a crushed home run to center field by Duda. Gomez allowed three more baserunners in his 65-pitch workday.
Photo Credits: ESPN
