NEW YORK -- Before Wednesday's rubber match between the Mets and Pirates, it seemed New York manager Terry Collins was ready to concede another poor offensive performance. The Mets' starting lineup, consisting of three players hitting below .210, continued to struggle at home, but that storyline -- too often told -- yielded for another one: Bartolo Colon.Making his first start as a 41-year-old, the fastball-happy veteran led New York through 7 1/3 innings of shutout baseball -- which included his 2,000th career strikeout -- in a 5-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field. 
Colon punched out at least one Pirates batter in all but one frame, finishing with a season-high nine strikeouts, allowing just three hits and one walk over 121 pitches. Continuing to pound two-seam fastballs, he kept Pittsburgh hitters off balance until surrendering back-to-back singles to Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen in the eighth. Jeurys Familia replaced him to face Ike Davis, and induced an inning-ending double-play on the first pitch.It was a rough game for both sides, especially considering the defensive clinic that each team put on in Tuesday night's game. The Mets and Pirates combined for four errors and three wild pitches, as well as some questionable baserunning decisions.Pittsburgh sinkerballer Charlie Morton was effective through 5 1/3 innings, but he struggled with his command. He had to be nearly perfect to match Colon, but consecutive walks in the sixth inning forced manager Clint Hurdle to call on Jared Hughes, who later escaped the frame.Morton allowed the Mets' first run in the second inning. He walked Lucas Duda, who jogged to second on a wild pitch and moved to third to on Ruben Tejada's groundout. Duda quickly skipped home after Morton pounded another ball to the backstop while facing Colon with two outs.Taking advantage of poor throws became a consistent theme for New York. In the third, Daniel Murphy hit a soft grounder to Pedro Alvarez, whose throw to first got past Davis and caromed off the Mets dugout. A good throw to second from Walker - who was backing up the play -- was wasted when shortstop Jordy Mercer dropped the ball, which trickled into center field, letting Murphy scamper to third. David Wright singled him home three pitches later.The Mets had their own share of errors in the field, both coming on wild throws by Wright, who redeemed them in the sixth inning with a solo blast to left-center. It was Wright's fourth home run, doubling his total on the season just within the nine-game homestand.Duda extended New York's lead in the eighth with a two-run homer, his seventh of the season.Jake Kring-Schreifels / MLB.com
Colon punched out at least one Pirates batter in all but one frame, finishing with a season-high nine strikeouts, allowing just three hits and one walk over 121 pitches. Continuing to pound two-seam fastballs, he kept Pittsburgh hitters off balance until surrendering back-to-back singles to Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen in the eighth. Jeurys Familia replaced him to face Ike Davis, and induced an inning-ending double-play on the first pitch.It was a rough game for both sides, especially considering the defensive clinic that each team put on in Tuesday night's game. The Mets and Pirates combined for four errors and three wild pitches, as well as some questionable baserunning decisions.Pittsburgh sinkerballer Charlie Morton was effective through 5 1/3 innings, but he struggled with his command. He had to be nearly perfect to match Colon, but consecutive walks in the sixth inning forced manager Clint Hurdle to call on Jared Hughes, who later escaped the frame.Morton allowed the Mets' first run in the second inning. He walked Lucas Duda, who jogged to second on a wild pitch and moved to third to on Ruben Tejada's groundout. Duda quickly skipped home after Morton pounded another ball to the backstop while facing Colon with two outs.Taking advantage of poor throws became a consistent theme for New York. In the third, Daniel Murphy hit a soft grounder to Pedro Alvarez, whose throw to first got past Davis and caromed off the Mets dugout. A good throw to second from Walker - who was backing up the play -- was wasted when shortstop Jordy Mercer dropped the ball, which trickled into center field, letting Murphy scamper to third. David Wright singled him home three pitches later.The Mets had their own share of errors in the field, both coming on wild throws by Wright, who redeemed them in the sixth inning with a solo blast to left-center. It was Wright's fourth home run, doubling his total on the season just within the nine-game homestand.Duda extended New York's lead in the eighth with a two-run homer, his seventh of the season.Jake Kring-Schreifels / MLB.com
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
