NEW YORK -- Just when New York Mets fans were reaching the height of despondency over the team's flailing offense and mounting injuries, the team produces a stress-free night like this.
Behind a season-high 19 hits from the depleted lineup and a dominating performance from Noah Syndergaard, the Mets snapped a three-game losing streak with an 11-2 rout against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday at Citi Field.
The Mets (35-29) had received a jolt slightly more than an hour before the first pitch when Juan Lagares was scratched because he was unable to play with the partially torn ligament in his left thumb. That came on the heels of manager Terry Collins revealing in the afternoon that Neil Walker's lower-back discomfort is persisting and required another visit to team doctors. And that came on the heels of general manager Sandy Alderson announcing Tuesday that David Wright might opt for surgery to address a herniated disk in his neck.
Yet a day after the Mets were held hitless into the seventh inning by Jameson Taillon in the rookie's second major league start, the bats surprisingly awakened. The Mets produced three first-inning runs against left-hander Jeff Locke, highlighted by Matt Reynolds' two-out, two-run double down the third-base line. Kelly Johnson, the late replacement for Lagares in the outfield, contributed a solo homer in the third for a 4-0 lead. Wilmer Flores added a two-run homer in the sixth. The lead eventually swelled to 11-0. Flores finished with four RBIs.
Hitting coach Kevin Long had held a pregame meeting with the hitters, imploring them to use the whole field. Collins had complained Tuesday that the Mets were hitting too much into the Pirates' shifts.
“I was very pleased,” Collins said. “They had a little get-together before the game today and Kevin talked about some things to them. And they applied it tonight. You saw a lot of hits the other way.”
Meanwhile, Syndergaard retired the next 17 Pirates batters after John Jaso's game-opening single, until Jaso again singled in the sixth inning. Bidding for his first career complete game, Syndergaard took the mound for the ninth at 97 pitches and with a scoreless effort, but Jaso greeted him with a double. Collins tried to allow Syndergaard to reach the finish line as fans chanted, "No-ah, No-ah." But when David Freese produced an RBI double, the manager pulled Syndergaard after a career-high 8â…“ innings.
Syndergaard gave up five hits and struck out 11 in a 115-pitch effort, which fell one pitch shy of his career high. Jeurys Familia completed the game. An unearned run charged to Syndergaard scored as a result of Flores' throwing error at third base.
Syndergaard reached 100 strikeouts for the season when he fanned Andrew McCutchen in the fourth inning. Syndergaard reached that threshold in 81â…“ innings. That's the quickest in Mets history, passing Pedro Martinez, who reached 100 strikeouts in 86 innings in 2005.
Ouch: Pirates left fielder Starling Marte departed the game after making a diving attempt at Yoenis Cespedes' liner in the fifth. The one-hop shot struck Marte in the face.
What's next: Bartolo Colon (5-3, 3.08 ERA) opposes right-hander Juan Nicasio (5-5, 5.34) in Thursday’s 7:10 p.m. ET rubber game.
