Bucs stumble to another loss
NEW YORK — In a sloppy September game between noncontending teams, Angel Pagan had the big hit.
The rest of the game was marred by errors and shaky pitching as the Mets and Pirates lurched to the finish in their disappointing seasons.
Pagan capped New York's seven-run fourth inning with a tiebreaking two-run single and the Mets handed Pittsburgh another road loss with an 8-7 victory Wednesday night.
The Pirates, who dropped to 15-58 on the road, made two costly errors while blowing a five-run lead. One was a head-scratcher by catcher Chris Snyder, whose dropped throw opened the door to the tying and go-ahead runs later in the inning.
"I mean the guy's leading baseball in fielding percentage as a catcher, drops the ball at the plate. It shocked all of us," Pirates manager John Russell said. "We had a nice lead and just couldn't hold it."
The Mets also lost 20-year-old right-hander Jenrry Mejia, who left in the third inning with an acute shoulder strain. He went for an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
Jose Reyes hit his 10th homer in the sixth inning for the Mets, who have won three straight.
The Pirates helped New York out with their sloppy fielding in the big fourth inning. Ike Davis and pinch-hitter Mike Hessman each had run-scoring hits for the Mets.
Paul Maholm (7-15) lasted just 3X\c innings for Pittsburgh, which could threaten the 1963 Mets' record for worst road mark (17-64) in a 162-game season.
Raul Valdes (3-3) came in after Mejia left with one out. Valdes allowed four runs in 1X\c innings and Hisanori Takahashi, the last of seven Mets pitchers, surrendered a homer to Andrew McCutchen on his first pitch before retiring three straight for his seventh save.
Seven consecutive batters reached after Pagan led off the fourth with a routine grounder. He came up again with two down and singled to left-center to put the Mets ahead 7-5.
The Pirates let the tying run score when shortstop Ronny Cedeno mishandled a one-out grounder by pinch-hitter Joaquin Arias. Before Cedeno's miscue, Snyder dropped a throw from third baseman Pedro Alvarez on Ruben Tejada's grounder, letting Davis and Nick Evans score.
"Everything happened but the ball going in my glove," Snyder said. "I wish I could give you something good to put down and make it seem right, but I can't. It's terrible. It's inexcusable. It's embarrassing to me. That's a play I make 99 times out of a hundred.
"Well, I guess now it's 98 times."
Maholm was charged with seven runs, just two earned, and seven hits. He walked two and struck out one.
"You have a 5-0 lead," Maholm said. "You have to be able to make it stand up."
