The game was decided before most fans found their seats. Pittsburgh scored three runs in the first inning and never let New York back in it, rolling to a 9-0 win at PNC Park. By the time Robert Stock left the mound, the outcome was already settled in every way but the scoreboard.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| PIT | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 9 | 12 | 0 |
Bubba Chandler was the anchor. The right-hander worked six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out five. He needed just 85 pitches to get through six, and the Pirates' bullpen finished the job with three shutout innings of its own, covering the final three frames without allowing a run. Chandler improved to 5-8 with the win, carrying a 4.26 ERA.
Pittsburgh's first inning set the tone. Gonzales grounded out to the pitcher to bring home Mangum for the game's first run, and Simon followed with a double to left that scored both Horwitz and Reynolds, making it 3-0 before New York had recorded an out in the bottom half. The Pirates kept adding in the third when Gonzalez singled home Simon, then blew the game open in the fourth. Mangum doubled to left to score Davis, Mangum himself came around to score on a wild pitch by Stock, and Gonzales added a two-run double to score Lowe and Reynolds, pushing the lead to 8-0. Lowe capped the scoring with a home run to right in the seventh.
Stock lasted just three innings for New York, allowing 8 runs on 9 hits with 5 walks, and was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA. The Mets bullpen fared better, with two relievers combining for five innings and allowing just one run, but the early deficit was already too much. New York managed only three hits all night and never threatened to score.
Mangum finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, a run driven in and two runs scored, while Gonzales drove in three without recording an extra-base hit beyond his double. The win moved Pittsburgh to 58-61, snapping into a one-game winning streak, while New York fell to 51-67 with the loss extending its skid to one game.