Mets 5, Pirates 3
Mets 5, Pirates 3: Eric Campbell went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in place of an injured David Wright to help visiting New York halt a three-game losing streak.
Daniel Murphy had a two-run single and Kirk Nieuwenhuis drove in a run for the Mets, who scored only four runs in dropping the first two games of the series. Jonathon Niese (5-4) allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings and received spotless relief from Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejía, who registered his eighth save.
Josh Harrison collected a pair of hits and Neil Walker added an RBI single for Pittsburgh, which lost for only the second time in eight games. Gerrit Cole (6-4) was shaky in his return from a 3 1/2-week stint on the disabled list, allowing five runs on seven hits in four innings.
The Mets staked Niese to a nice cushion for the second straight start, pushing across three runs in the first inning on Campbell's double, a wild pitch by Cole and Nieuwenhuis' two-out single. A pair of walks by Cole and a double steal set up Murphy's two-out, two-run single in the second to make it 5-0.
Niese couldn't handle prosperity and ran into trouble in the fourth by issuing three straight walks, the latter two with the bases loaded to allow the Pirates to pull within 5-2. Pittsburgh staged another two-out rally in the fifth, getting a double from Gaby Sanchez and an infield single from Harrison before Walker delivered a run-scoring single to center.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Niese turned in his 20th straight start allowing three earned runs or fewer, tying Tom Seaver (1974-75) for the third-longest in franchise history. ... Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen has hit safely in eight consecutive games while Mets 1B Lucas Duda ran his hitting streak to six games. ... Mets 3B Wright, who was sent back to New York on Friday to have an MRI exam on his ailing shoulder, will not need surgery and instead will be treated with rest and anti-inflammatory medication, according to a report by ESPNNewYork.com.