PITTSBURGH -- Pirates starter Brandon Cumpton pitched brilliantly to tee it up, and Josh Harrison, naturally, knocked it down by lacing an RBI double with two outs in the 11th for a 3-2 win over the Mets on Friday night at PNC Park, the Bucs' sixth in seven games.A sellout crowd of 37,952 watched the Mets survive a bizarre 10th before the Pirates (41-39) moved two games above .500 for the first time since April 11 (6-4) on the threshold of the season's actual halfway mark. 
A late entry on a night he was left out of the starting lineup, Harrison ripped the first pitch from former Pirates reliever Vic Black off the right-center wall to score Clint Barmes, who had walked. In the 10th, Harrison stole second base -- a call that stood after replay -- with no outs and reached third following a prolonged rundown before being stranded.As Cumpton prepared to take the mound Friday night with Gerrit Cole's shadow over him and two other starters whose tenure is in jeopardy, manager Clint Hurdle dismissed the notion PNC Park was about to host Survivor: The Rotation."The volume of each man's work is taken into consideration," Hurdle had said, alluding to also Jeff Locke and Vance Worley. "It's not about tonight."On a night the Pirates were operating with a thin bullpen and desperately needed length from their starter, Cumpton sailed through seven innings for the second consecutive start. He held the Mets to two runs on six hits, with one walk and four strikeouts.For the second time in a month, however, New York's Jacob deGrom was matching him. Writing virtually the identical line, deGrom allowed five hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings, with four strikeouts and three walks.Russell Martin had a major role in the Pirates' game-tying rally in the fourth. He was aboard with an infield single when Ike Davis hit a likely inning-ending double-play grounder to second. But soon after taking Daniel Murphy's feed, shortstop Ruben Tejada felt Martin steamroll through his legs and didn't attempt a relay throw to first, leaving runners at the corners.Pedro Alvarez then drew a walk to load the bases, and Jordy Mercer unloaded half of them with a sharp single to center, tying it at 2. Mercer had been hitless in five previous at-bats with the bases loaded this season.The Mets had scored twice in the top of the inning, when Cumpton nonetheless displayed his grit. Lucas Duda followed Tejada's leadoff single and Murphy's double with a two-run single down the first-base line. Still in a no-out jam, Cumpton induced Chris Young to bounce into a force, then picked him off first base. A grounder by Eric Campbell ended the inning.Tom Singer / MLB.com
A late entry on a night he was left out of the starting lineup, Harrison ripped the first pitch from former Pirates reliever Vic Black off the right-center wall to score Clint Barmes, who had walked. In the 10th, Harrison stole second base -- a call that stood after replay -- with no outs and reached third following a prolonged rundown before being stranded.As Cumpton prepared to take the mound Friday night with Gerrit Cole's shadow over him and two other starters whose tenure is in jeopardy, manager Clint Hurdle dismissed the notion PNC Park was about to host Survivor: The Rotation."The volume of each man's work is taken into consideration," Hurdle had said, alluding to also Jeff Locke and Vance Worley. "It's not about tonight."On a night the Pirates were operating with a thin bullpen and desperately needed length from their starter, Cumpton sailed through seven innings for the second consecutive start. He held the Mets to two runs on six hits, with one walk and four strikeouts.For the second time in a month, however, New York's Jacob deGrom was matching him. Writing virtually the identical line, deGrom allowed five hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings, with four strikeouts and three walks.Russell Martin had a major role in the Pirates' game-tying rally in the fourth. He was aboard with an infield single when Ike Davis hit a likely inning-ending double-play grounder to second. But soon after taking Daniel Murphy's feed, shortstop Ruben Tejada felt Martin steamroll through his legs and didn't attempt a relay throw to first, leaving runners at the corners.Pedro Alvarez then drew a walk to load the bases, and Jordy Mercer unloaded half of them with a sharp single to center, tying it at 2. Mercer had been hitless in five previous at-bats with the bases loaded this season.The Mets had scored twice in the top of the inning, when Cumpton nonetheless displayed his grit. Lucas Duda followed Tejada's leadoff single and Murphy's double with a two-run single down the first-base line. Still in a no-out jam, Cumpton induced Chris Young to bounce into a force, then picked him off first base. A grounder by Eric Campbell ended the inning.Tom Singer / MLB.com
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
