Final Score: Mets 3, Pirates 2 — Baxter's walkoff wins it for the Mets

For the second time in three games, Mike Baxter won the game for the Mets with a walkoff hit as New York defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2. Earlier, the Mets had gotten on the board first with a sacrifice fly by Marlon Byrd in the second inning, and Dillon Gee kept the lead intact through five innings.

In the sixth, though, Gee loaded the bases with nobody out, and Brandon Lyon took over. The first batter he faced hit a sacrifice fly, but Lyon shut the Pirates down to keep the game tied. In the seventh, Lyon gave up a single and a sacrifice bunt, and Scott Rice came in to notch two outs and bail him out, too.

Ike Davis put the Mets back on top in the bottom of the seventh with a double—yes, really—but the Pirates knotted the game on a solo home run against LaTroy Hawkins in the eighth. Fortunately for the good guys, Juan Lagares made a fantastic catch in the top of the ninth to save a run with Bobby Parnell on the mound. And Byrd legged out an infield single against Pirates closer Jason Grilli in the ninth, was bunted to second, and scored the winning run on Baxter's single.

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by Steve Sypa; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.