Rain is a Good Thing: Pirates Come Out Swingin’ After Delay, Pile on Late to Beat Mets

PITTSBURGH — After a rain delay that lasted an hour and a half, the Pittsburgh Pirates came out hot and added on late to defeat the New York Mets 9-2 on Saturday at PNC Park.

How We Got There

Juan Soto gave the Mets (48-36) a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI single off Bailey Falter.

After the lengthy rain delay, the Pirates (34-50) opened the bottom of the second inning with five straight hits off Mets starter Paul Blackburn (0-3)

Joey Bart and Ke’Bryan Hayes each plated a run on base hits while Adam Frazier put the Pirates ahead 3-1 with a sacrifice fly to center.

Brandon Nimmo brought New York within a run with an RBI single after Pete Alonso doubled off Braxton Ashcraft in the fifth. 

The Pirates’ offense exploded for six runs in the eighth. Hayes drove in his second run of the game on a single with the bases loaded, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with an RBI groundout to third. 

After pinch hitter Alexander Canario drew a walk to load the bases again, Andrew McCutchen drove in a pair with a lofted single into right-center. Bryan Reynolds then brought home two more on a double.

Key Moment

Shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa made a great heads up play in the bottom of the fourth inning to keep the Mets from having a runner on third base with nobody out in what was a close game at the time. 

Just how the @Pirates drew it up 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/IQyjMbudXL

— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2025

Star of the Game

The Pirates’ bullpen. Braxton Ashcraft (2-0), Dennis Santana, Caleb Ferguson and David Bednar combined to hold the Mets to one run in 7.1 innings. 

Stat to Know

This was Andrew McCutchen’s 2,200th career game played. The Pirates’ designated hitter leads active players in games played, ahead of former Pirates first baseman Carlos Santana, now with the Cleveland Guardians, who has played in 2,155 games.

Notable Performances

• Bailey Falter: 1.2 innings, four hits, one run, one walk, one strikeout, 30 pitches/19 strikes
• Joey Bart: 2 for 3, one one RBI, one walk, one run
• Ke’Bryan Hayes: 2 for 4, two RBI, one run
• Andrew McCutchen: 2 for 4, two RBI, one run
• Nick Gonzales: 2 for 4, one walk, one run
• Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 5, one double, two RBI

Noteworthy

• The Pirates have scored 18 runs on 24 hits through the first two games of this series. They’ve had nine runs and 12 hits in each of the first two games. They’ve outscored the Mets 18-3.
• Ke’Bryan Hayes extended his hitting streak to seven games. He’s batting .417 (10 for 22) with six RBI during the streak.
• Just before the start of the game, it was announced that Hall of Famer Dave Parker died at the age of 74.

Up Next

The Pirates will go for their second sweep of the season on Sunday afternoon with RHP Mike Burrows (1-2, 4.45 ERA) on the mound. RHP Frankie Montas (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his second start of the season for the Mets. First pitch: 1:35 p.m. ET.