The Pirates beat the New York Mets 5-1 Tuesday night thanks to a strong performance by James McDonald and a key hit by newcomer Josh Harrison.
Mets starter R.A. Dickey shut the Pirates down for seven innings, and racked up 10 strikeouts total. Harrison did manage a single off Dickey in the third that was the first hit of Harrison’s major-league career.
But there really wasn’t much action until the eighth. Harrison tied the game with an RBI single, and Neil Walker followed that with a two-run single that put the Pirates up 3-1. Brandon Wood added a two-run single in the ninth to extend the Pirates’ lead.
Meanwhile, James McDonald pitched six strong innings, allowing one run while striking out five and walking two. Evan Meek picked up the win in relief with a scoreless seventh, which was followed by scoreless innings from Jose Veras and Joel Hanrahan.
It was a huge game for Harrison, obviously, and let’s hope we see plenty of him while we wait for Pedro Alvarez and Steve Pearce to recover.