Pirates Lose Series Opener to Mets on Walk-Off
NEW YORK — The Pittsburgh Pirates kept it close with the New York Mets at Citi Field, but would drop the series opener, 4-3 on a walk-off.
Pittsburgh makes it 2-2 since manager Don Kelly took over on May 8, after they won two out of three games against the Atlanta Braves last weekend, dropping to 14-28 overall.
It also makes it six straight losses for the Pirates on the road, as they drop to 5-15 away from home and haven't won since April 23 over the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium. The Mets improve to 27-15 overall and 16-4 at home.
The Pirates had their first scoring opportunity in the top of the first inning, as left fielder Andrew McCutchen and designated hitter Joey Bart had back-to-back walks, but first baseman Matt Gorski struck out.
Paul Skenes made his ninth start of the season for the Pirates and allowed a single to Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and walked right fielder Juan Soto to start the bottom of the first inning.
He would get out of it unscathed, as he got Mets first baseman Pete Alonso to groundout into a double play and then struck out left fielder Brandon Nimmo.
The Pirates took an early lead, as shortstop Isiak Kiner-Falefa hit a solo home run off Mets left-handed starting pitcher Dean Patterson in the top of the second inning.
This marked Kiner-Falefa's first home run of the season and his second home run with the Pirates since he came in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2024 MLB Trade deadline, doing so at PNC Park vs. the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 17.
IKF in NYC 🤩 pic.twitter.com/qA8phYRVHr
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 12, 2025
Skenes faced a somewhat similar situation in the bottom of the second inning, as he allowed a leadoff single to designated hitter Mark Vientos, and after getting center fielder Jeff McNeil to pop out, he walked catcher Francisco Álvarez.
Despite getting himself into a difficult situation, Skenes would strikeout Mets third baseman Brent Baty and then got second baseman Luisangel Acuña to groundout.
Peterson dominated the Pirates through the first four innings, aside from the home run, as he posted four strikeouts.
The Mets would finally score in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Nimmo led off with a double, and after Vientos struck out, McNeil followed through with his own double off Skenes to score Nimmo and tie it up at 1-1.
Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo would double with one out in the top of the fifth inning and then Hayes reached on an infield single off a missed ground ball from Baty with two outs, that Triolo chose to stay at third base instead of coming home and potentially scoring. The Pirates didn't come through, as right fielder Bryan Reynolds would strikeout.
McCutchen ledoff the sixth inning with a single and then after two outs, Kiner-Falefa sliced a single to right field himself. The Pirates, again, left runners on, as center fielder Alexander Canario flew out.
Skenes allowed a ground-rule double to Vientos and walked McNeil with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning, but he got Álvarez to ground into a double-play to end that scoring opportunity.
He ended his night after that at-bat, allowing six hits and three walks, but just one run over six innings, while posting six strikeouts over 92 pitches.
Peterson walked Triolo to open the top of the seventh inning and ended his start as well, with seven strikeouts over 100 pitches.
Mets right-handed pitcher José Butto came in relief, but Triolo stole second base and then made it to third base on a disengagement violation.
Hayes walked and then Reynolds would hit a grounder, but beat out the throw at first base, nullifying the double play and allowing Triolo to score, giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
Pirates left-handed relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson came on in the bottom of the seventh inning and hit the leadoff batter in Mets pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor.
Acuña then hit a ground ball that Gorski got at first base, but Ferguson was too late with his step on the bag, as Acuña used his speed to beat him out, putting runners on the corners for the Mets with no outs.
Ferguson struck out Lindor and got Soto to groundout, but it was enough for Taylor to score from third base and tie it up, 2-2.
Right-handed pitcher Colin Holderman relieved Ferguson for the Pirates and got a ground ball from Alonso, but Hayes couldn't get it at third base. Acuña then ran around and headed home and while Kiner-Falefa got the ball to catcher Henry Davis at the plate, his tag was late and Acuña scored, giving the Mets a 3-2 lead.
Acuña comes home for the lead! ⚡ pic.twitter.com/BElmu0d5y8
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 13, 2025
Bart almost tied it for the Pirates with a deep fly to left field, but Nimmo jumped up and made the catch before it hit the top of the wall, keeping the Mets in the lead.
NIMMO BRINGS IT BACK! pic.twitter.com/qQLDVvKwcU
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 13, 2025
Canario led off the top of the ninth inning with a single and then Kelly put in Ji Hwan Bae as a pinch-runner.
Triolo hit a potential double-play ball, but Lindor failed to gather it for an error, allowing both runners to get in safely with no outs. Davis then laid down a successful bunt, moving both runners one spot and into scoring position.
Hayes hit a ground ball to Acuña, who had moved to third base, and he couldn't get it initially, allowing Bae to score and Triolo to move up to third base. The first plate umpire called out Hayes after Acuña managed to throw it there, but review kept him safe as well.
Ke'BRYAN HAYES TIES THE GAME WITH AN RBI SINGLE
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) May 13, 2025
(call at 1st was overturned after review and Hayes was safe) pic.twitter.com/zCAsv3t3TY
Reynolds would end the chance for the Pirates to take the lead, as he grounded into a double-play to send it to the bottom of the ninth inning.
Right-handed pitcher David Bednar came in or the bottom of the ninth inning and would strikeout Acuña. He then got an easy grounder from Lindor, but Kiner-Falefa let it go under his glove and Lindor got on base.
Soto crushed a ball into center field, moving Lindor to first base and giving the Mets runners on the corners with one out.
Alonso would hit a deep enough fly-ball and Lindor scored from third base, giving the Mets a 4-3 win.
The Pirates will look to even up the series in the second game on May 13. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.
