Pirates 5, Mets 2
Rookie Gregory Polanco homered and drove in four runs to power host Pittsburgh in the opener of a four-game series.
Vance Worley (2-0) pitched seven strong innings in his third start of the season, allowing one run on seven hits as the Pirates improved to 5-1 in their last six. Pedro Alvarez collected three hits and Jordy Mercer scored twice to kick off Pittsburgh's 10-game homestand with a victory.
Lucas Duda homered for the second time in as many games and David Wright added an RBI double as New York dropped its second in a row following a three-game winning streak. Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-2) lost his second straight start, yielding five runs on five hits and four walks in six innings.
The Pirates scored in the third without the benefit of a hit on a walk to Mercer, a sacrifice, a wild pitch and Polanco's groundout. Duda tied it with an opposite-field blast to the corner in left field but Pittsburgh went ahead in the fourth when Andrew McCutchen doubled and raced home from third when Matsuzaka picked off Ike Davis, scoring before Davis was tagged out to end the inning.
Worley helped himself with a one-out single in the fifth to put two runners aboard for Polanco, who crushed a 3-2 breaking ball from Matsuzaka well back into the bleachers in right to extend the lead to 5-1. New York pushed across a run in the eighth against reliever Tony Watson on back-to-back doubles from Daniel Murphy and Wright, but Mark Melancon shut the door in the ninth for his 14th save.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Wright extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his eighth-inning RBI double. ... Pirates LF Josh Harrison threw out Bobby Abreu at home plate in the second inning on a single by Ruben Tejada. ... ... Mets CF Juan Lagares, sidelined since June 1 with a right intercostal strain, went 1-for-4 in his return to the lineup while SS Wilmer Flores was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.