Mets used balanced effort to get past Pirates
Daniel Vogelbach, Jonathan Arauz and Brandon Nimmo homered to lead a balanced offensive attack for the New York Mets, who beat the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2 in the opener of a three-game series on Monday night.
Tyson Miller (1-0) tossed two innings of scoreless relief to earn the win in his debut for the Mets, who have won back-to-back games for the first time since July 27-28 to improve to 4-10 this month.
Henry Davis and Ke'Bryan Hayes each had an RBI for the Pirates, who have lost five of their last seven games.
The Mets scored in each of the first six innings -- the first time they have done so in a home game since June 25, 1987. Pete Alonso had an RBI double in the first inning and Vogelbach homered in the second before Jeff McNeil gave New York the lead for good with a run-scoring single in the third.
Arauz hit his first homer with the Mets, a two-run shot, in the fourth before McNeil lofted a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Nimmo homered to center field in the sixth.
Francisco Lindor had two hits and stole his 20th base of the season. He is the ninth Mets player to record a 20/20 season and the first since Carlos Beltran in 2008.
Nimmo also had two hits.
Mets starter Carlos Carrasco allowed two runs on four hits -- including Davis' RBI single in the first and Hayes' run-scoring double in the third -- while walking three and striking out five over three laborious innings.
Miller walked two before four more relievers combined for four innings of one-hit ball.
Quinn Priester (2-2) took the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three over five innings.
Hayes was the lone Pirates player with two hits.
--Field Level Media