New York Mets outclass Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 as Jon Niese shines on the mound - MLB Update
Relief pitcher Frank Francisco throws a scoreless ninth and the New York Mets manage to keep their lead intact and beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 in last game of the three match series at PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 23, 2012.
Pirates’ centre fielder Andrew McCutchen has been ruthless against pitchers, irrespective of the quality of throws. Against the backdrop of .338/.391/.543 record, the Mets were aware of how crucial his blockade is going to be.
As he was allowed to end up with just 1-for-4, the Mets were successful in keeping him quiet in the game.
That can be one the reasons the Mets can trace their victory to. After all, they had just two runs lead after the sixth and if McCutchen was not stopped, he will have easily blown it. A little loose up in momentum against him will have proven disastrous.
Thus, credit goes to starter Jonathon Niese, who not only compensated for his rough-up in the last game, but used his artillery to quash any aggression coming off McCutchen.
In little more than seven innings, he struck-out five and gave up one run.
Drubbing he received in the last game had raised questions about rationality behind giving him contract extension by the Mets. In this connection, his Wednesday’s outing will go a long way in putting halt to those questions.
Role of closer Francisco was equally great in the game. He drew two strike-outs. During such a shaky stage of the game, his control was exemplary.
Third baseman David Wright connected just one hit in four at-bats. At the end of the game, manager Terry Collins stressed the need to start witnessing all-round performance as opposed to single player doing chunk of the work.
"When you pitch, you can scratch out some wins but when not pitching and hitting at the same, that's a bad combination," Collins said. "David got another big hit today. As long as he's hitting we're going to score runs but we've got to get other guys in
our lineup going."
Getting the starter to throw more than seven innings is a great positive for the Mets. They will be hoping that rest of their pitchers follow suit and take inspiration from Niese.
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