NEW YORK — Felipe Vazquez, moments after pitching a scoreless eighth inning, walked around the visitors' clubhouse at Citi Field to stay loose. The Pirates' closer entered in a double-switch to possibly pitch two innings, but his offense would need at least two runs in the ninth for that to happen.
As Vazquez paced around, bench coach Tom Prince asked Clint Hurdle what seemed like a meaningless question.
"Tom asked me, 'Will Vazquez hit if we get to his spot?' " Hurdle recalled afterward. "I said, ‘Yes, we’d be in a good spot if we can get Vazquez up in the plate.’ "
Vazquez watched from a television screen as the Pirates accomplished the unexpected. The deficit was cut to one run after three consecutive singles.
Then, David Freese, who entered as part of the double-switch, hit a two-run single to right-center for the lead. Moments later, Vazquez heard Prince yelling from the tunnel to get ready to hit. Vazquez, the ninth Pirates hitter of the inning, stepped to the plate and struck out, then went back on the mound to pitch a scoreless ninth to secure a 5-3 win over the Mets Wednesday night.
It required an unprecedented turn of events for the Pirates, now 38-42, to avoid a series loss against an opponent with the fewest wins in the National League, and all involved hope it's the first step in changing the direction of their season.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEO"They're all important," Freese said afterward. "But we're trying to turn things around here, especially in the next few weeks. Obviously, every team is talking about their plans for the deadline and everything, but we're trying to stay focused on what we can control and try to win some ballgames to get us back in this thing."
It was the Pirates' second series win since May 17, and the first time since June 16 they scored three or more runs in one inning. The offense scored five runs on seven hits over the final two innings after managing only four hits through the first seven against the Mets (32-46).
They nearly blew a five-run lead in the series opener Monday, and the bullpen allowed two runs in a loss in the second game. This time, though, the Pirates finally broke through after a miserable seven innings. Trailing by three runs after Ivan Nova allowed a solo home run in the sixth and two runs in the third, Starling Marte, pinch-hitting for Tyler Glasnow, led off the eighth with a double.
Marte then stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Austin Meadows to cut the deficit to two. Prior to the double, Mets starter Zack Wheeler allowed five singles and struck out seven. Nineteen of the Pirates' first 23 batters faced a two-strike count, and they had only two reach scoring position.
They batted .225 over their previous six games, five of which resulted in losses, and went a combined 8 for 36 with runners in scoring position. At the conclusion of the eighth, Hurdle chose to execute the double-switch, putting Freese at third with Vazquez on the mound and batting ninth.
"That’s why you do it," Hurdle said. "We’ve done it with him before. We did it with [Mark] Melancon before. We’ve done it with every closer that’s been here. … I wanted to keep him on a roll. When we made the move I was hoping he’d get to pitch two innings."
Vazquez allowed a two-out single before getting a fly out to end the eighth. Mets closer Jeurys Familia entered to try to close out the game, despite having thrown 28 pitches one night earlier. First, Elias Diaz singled. Then, Corey Dickerson choked up on the bat handle with two strikes to line a single to right.
With runners on the corners, Gregory Polanco, who went 5 for 10 with two home runs and 4 RBIs in the series, made it three consecutive singles, this one to center, to score Diaz.
"Watching in here. I don’t think we’ve (had) that opportunity — four base hits in a row this year," Nova said. Freese accomplished the feat. After Familia was removed, Freese hit Anthony Swarzak's first pitch to right-center to score the tying and go-ahead runs:
"I was just trying not to ground out to short," Freese said, laughing. Josh Bell drove in the fourth run of the inning with a sacrifice fly, and Josh Harrison had the club's fifth hit of the inning with a single to left. Vazquez, stepping to the plate for the first time since 2016, struck out on three pitches to end the inning.
He then retired the side in order to secure the win. "We have a really good team," Nova said. "There are some big teams on paper, but we definitely have a good team. We can do some good things out there. We can win some ball games. We just have to put the foot down and go, man."
The standings say otherwise. Despite the win, the Pirates are 8 1/2 games back of the first-place Brewers and only four games ahead of the last-place Reds. They've lost 25 of their last 37 games, while being unremarkable in almost every facet. Nova was strong again, allowing three runs on five hits in six innings; however, the rotation's ERA ranks 10th in the National League, while the bullpen's is 12th.
Despite their hot start, the offense ranks sixth in the NL in batting average, eighth in OPS and 13th in home runs. Following a four-game sweep at home this past weekend, Hurdle reshuffled the lineup and urged his players to start taking losses personally.
Meanwhile, the trade deadline is just over one month away, and multiple reports — including one by our Dejan Kovacevic — indicate Neal Huntington is already shopping five veterans, including Freese. One victory to salvage a series won't dictate the front office's direction; however, all involved in this remarkable comeback hope this is the start of something much greater.
"We’re here to win games, not just to be big leaguers," Freese said. "Our job here is to get up here, to stay here and to win ballgames. I don’t care what the plans of any organization are, but when there’s 25 active guys you have to get ready to strap it on and win some ballgames."
1. Nova deserved better.
Nova made only two egregious mistakes in his fourth start since coming off the disabled list. He hit Amed Rosario, the Mets' worst hitter, with a pitch on a 1-2 count to lead off the third inning. Rosario moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored when Jose Bautista hit an outside fastball for a double to right field for a 1-0 lead.
Asdrubal Cabrera then hit a pitch out of the zone towards the left side of the infield to beat the shift and score Bautista. "It was good," Nova said when asked to summarize his night. "Bautista put a good swing on that fastball. I think it was a good pitch. Cabrera, another good pitch. I made a mistake with a fastball."
Nova was referring to the mistake he threw to Wilmer Flores, a fastball down the middle that resulted in a solo home run to left. Otherwise, he limited hard contact and kept the Mets off-balance with his fastball and curveball, throwing 53 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
Nova could have pitched past the sixth inning, but Hurdle chose to lift him in favor of Glasnow. Nova has a 2.29 ERA over his last four starts, and the Pirates have won three of those games. It's arguably the best he's pitched since the first two months of last season.
Sure, it was against the Mets. They lost seven in a row before beating the Pirates Tuesday night, but they still have a few talented hitters, including Michael Conforto, a left-hander. Lefties went a combined 2 for 11 against Nova.
"He went out and made pitches," Hurdle said. "I thought it was a very solid performance."
2. Marte started it all.
The Pirates' offense was silent until Hurdle chose to use Marte as a pinch-hitter. Marte was out of the lineup after starting six consecutive games, and he was batting just .183 this month. But he reached base in three of four plate appearances Monday and a return to the leadoff spot seemed to rejuvenate him the past two days.
So, what better way to use him than to lead off the eighth inning with the Pirates' offense reeling? Marte stepped to the plate against Robert Gsellman, fell behind 0-2 and worked the count even until he got his pitch. Gsellman threw a slider down the middle that Marte hit over center fielder Brandon Nimmo's head for a double.
Marte then stole third — his 17th stolen base this season — and scored two batters later on Bell's fly ball to center. Marte's production has dropped since returning from the disabled list last month, but he was the catalyst for an offense that flatlined against a starter with a 4.85 ERA.
"Marte is a talent, man," Freese said. "You really never know what he’s going to do. He kind of went up there and just whacked it. It gave us a chance to get that feeling we’d have a shot. We got all five late. It kind of set the tone to get things rolling."
3. Diaz still a work in progress.
The Pirates have a player learning at arguably the most important position on the field. I'm referring to Elias Diaz, the backup catcher again thrust into a starting role with Francisco Cervelli on the disabled list. Diaz is capable offensively, as illustrated by his .324 average in his previous 10 starts.
Also, Diaz has proven capable of game-calling and handling the Pirates' pitching staff. However, one of his strengths has suddenly become a debilitating weakness. Diaz has a cannon for a throwing arm. So much so that he was given Baseball America's "Captain's Catcher" award in 2015, given to the best defensive catcher in minor league baseball.
It's one aspect of his game that's regressed, though. Diaz has committed six errors this season, including two in the Pirates' loss to the Mets Tuesday night. His throws to second have also been wildly inconsistent.
So, Prince has worked extensively with Diaz to improve his judgement behind the plate. Diaz, 27, will often try to do too much and his unwavering confidence can become a detriment, so they're trying to improve his decision-making. That work helped Diaz throw out a runner trying to steal second base to end the seventh inning.
"You look at the tape to see if there was a play to be made," Hurdle said. "Consequences, risk versus reward, and all of this has to be thought out beforehand. That's the challenging part, is gaining experience. I've gone through it with a couple different players. ... Over time they realize they don't need to make every play and making every play isn't realistic. They also learn how to gauge their arm, how to use their arm effectively with strength. Sometimes take a little bit off. It's all touch and feel for the game."