Mets vs. Pirates, Game 2 recap: No treasure to be found in Pittsburgh

The Mets dropped the second game of the doubleheader Tuesday by a final score of 3-1. They lost game one by the exact same score and many of the same themes continued. The offense was stagnant and while the pitching wasn't perfect, they kept the team in the game. Unfortunately for both Steven Matz and Jacob deGrom, giving up runs early dug a hole too deep for the offense to dig out of.

The Mets' offense was off to an inauspicious start against Pirates' starter Juan Nicasio when he struck out the side in the first. Jacob deGrom was able to match him in the first but struggled against the bottom of the Pirates' lineup in the second.

Jordy Mercer singled to lead off the inning and Sean Rodriguez followed with a double. Cole Figueroa grounded out which brought home Mercer. Rodriguez scored when Chris Stewart reached on an infield single. Two runs should not seem like much, but getting down early tightened the noose around Mets' hitters that had already been struggling.

For his part, deGrom settled down nicely and even struck out the side in the third. It wasn't until the fifth that the bottom of the lineup again caused trouble for him. Stewart singled again and Nicasio got a butcher boy hit that ricocheted off deGrom's glove. With first and second and one out, John Jaso doubled to drive in the Pirates' third run. deGrom was not his dominant self but he still pitched six solid innings, did not walk anybody, and struck out nine. His ERA sits at 2.80 for the year.

Nicasio met little resistance from the Mets' lineup until the fifth when Neil Walker broke up the perfect game with a leadoff single. He was erased when James Loney hit into a double play but with two out the Mets put together a bit of a rally. Michael Conforto doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch. Wilmer Flores walked and Kevin Plawecki, who desperately needed a hit, came through with a RBI single.

That was pretty much it for the offense. Curtis Granderson drew a walk in the sixth but Asdrubal Cabrera followed with a double play. Alejandro de Aza doubled in the 8th but was left stranded.

Hansel Robles was able to work out of a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the eighth, which is good for him going forward, but as a team the outcome of this game had already been decided in the second inning.

SB Nation GameThreads

* Amazin' Avenue GameThread
* Bucs Dugout GameThread

Box scores

*MLB.com
* ESPN

Win Probability Added

(What's WPA?)

Big winners: None
Big losers: Asdrubal Cabrera -16.6%, Jacob deGrom -13.9%, James Loney -12.9%
Teh aw3s0mest play: Kevin Plawecki single in fifth
Teh sux0rest play: John Jaso double in fifth
Total pitcher WPA: -10.9%
Total batter WPA: -39.1%
GWRBI!: John Jaso