Gerrit Cole struggles early as Pittsburgh Pirates fail to sweep New York Mets
A sold-out crowd of 37,490 came to support the Pittsburgh Pirates, however Gerrit Cole needed 30 pitches to get out of the first inning and his teammates couldn’t make up the difference in a 4-2 loss to the New York Mets.
Cole started in place of Jeff Locke due to injury, but he experienced similar issues to previous starts. His location, especially on his fastball, was lacking leading to three runs scored in the opening inning. Cole was able to put up zeroes for the rest of his four innings.
Jul 14, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates representatives in the 2013 All Star game (from left) relief pitcher Mark Melancon (35) and center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) and starting pitcher Jeff Locke (49) and relief pitcher Jason Grilli (39) and third baseman Pedro Alvarez (24) are introduced on the field before playing the New York Mets at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Still the Mets chased Cole out of the game by making him throw pitches. He threw 70 pitches through three innings and finished with 89 pitches after five innings.
The Pirates were able to score in the third inning when Starling Marte hit a double down the left field line to score Cole. Cole had reached second base thanks to a Dillon Gee error on a ground out.
Jeanmar Gomez relieved Cole in the sixth inning and allowed a run on a Daniel Murphy triple but did pitch two innings.
The Pirates did add a run in the eighth inning when a Jose Tabata groundout scored Jordy Mercer.
Bobby Parnell pitched the ninth inning for the Mets and once again the Pirates tried to battle back, with Clint Barmes and Russell Martin hitting singles with one out. Still, Parnell was able to get the last two outs and pick up his 17th save of the season.
With the loss, the Pirates were unable to tie the team record for the most wins before the All-Star Break. The Home Run Derby will be tomorrow night at 8 PM on ESPN and Pedro Alvarez is a part of that contest. The All-Star Game will be the next night on Fox.
The Pirates will take a 56-37 record into the break. The Pirates will open the second half of the season Friday night in Cincinnati and Francisco Liriano will start the contest.
Of note: Martin pinch hit in the ninth inning and thus played in his 1,000th game. Jeff Locke is expected to start next Sunday.