Jared Jones Dominates but Pirates Fall 3-1 to Mets

Jared Jones had a dominant outing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the New York Mets rallied for the second-straight night and pulled out a 3-1 victory at Citi Field on Tuesday.

Jones dazzled through his five innings of work against the Mets. The rookie allowed just one hit, didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. He threw 59 pitches and a whopping 50 of them went for strikes. The Pirates (11-7) took the 22-year-old out after five frames as they monitor his workload. 

With seven more strikeouts against the Mets, Jones became the fourth pitcher since 1893 with seven or more strikeouts through the first four outings of his career. He joined Masahrio Tanaka (2014), Stephen Strasburg (2010) and José DeLeón with the Pirates in 1983. 

At the conclusion of his outing, Jones was the league leader in strikeout to walk ratio at 16.00 – 32 strikeouts and two walks. His 32 punch outs trail only Tyler Glasnow of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who has 34. 

After getting shut out by Jones, the Mets (9-8) finally got to the Pirates’ bullpen in the seventh inning.

Luis Ortiz issued a free pass to Francisco Lindor which was followed by a Pete Alonso base hit, giving the Mets runners on the corners. Joey Wendle then delivered an RBI-double to left to tie the game 1-1. 

Jose Hernandez entered the game in relief of Ortiz with runners on second and third. Before he delivered his first offering, Hernandez was called for a balk which allowed Alonso to score from third base and give the Mets the lead.

The Mets take the lead on a balk! pic.twitter.com/ob5mtLk6oE

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2024

Following the balk, Jeff McNeil doubled to left field to extend the Mets’ lead to 3-1. All three runs were charged to Ortiz (1-1).

Reid Garrett (2-0) was awarded the win with a pair of scoreless innings of relief and Drew Smith collected his first save of the season. 

The Pirates plated the first run of the game in the fifth inning. With Alika Williams on second base, Bryan Reynolds singled to right on a check swing for a run-scoring base hit. The hit came against former Pirates starter José Quintana, who worked five strong innings for the Mets. 

With the loss, the Pirates dropped their first series of the season.

Up Next

The Pirates and Mets will conclude their three-game series on Wednesday afternoon. Bailey Falter (1-0, 4.20 ERA) will look to keep his hot stretch going. Luis Severino (1-1, 3.00 ERA) will start for New York. First pitch: 1:10 ET.

Housekeeping

• Ke’Bryan Hayes was scratched from the original lineup due to lower-back tightness.
• Yasmani Grandal (plantar fasciitis) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday night.