Pirates assured of another losing year

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

David Wright and Jose Reyes each had three of the Mets’ slump-ending 15 hits, Mike Pelfrey pitched eight innings and New York assured the Pittsburgh Pirates of their record-extending 18th consecutive losing season, winning 7-2 on Friday night.

Chris Carter homered and drove in two runs a night after the Mets were limited to three hits during a 3-2 loss in Houston, causing Mets manager Jerry Manuel to call his offense “pathetic.”

Think how Manuel would feel if he managed the Pirates, whose 82nd loss — they’ve won 40 times — guaranteed them of extending the longest streak of consecutive losing seasons in major American pro sports history. They’d never done it this soon, either; previously, the earliest they had secured such a season was on Aug. 27, 2001.

The Pirates, who fell behind 3-0 in the first and 5-1 in the third, are on pace to lose 109 games, only three off their modern-era record of 112 during a 154-game season in 1952. They’ve dropped 11 of 12, scoring more than two runs only twice in any of those defeats.

Pelfrey (12-7) gave up Ryan Doumit’s solo homer in the second and Andrew McCutchen’s RBI single an inning later, but otherwise had few problems with an offense that’s performing even worse than that of the Mets. Going into the game, New York had been held to three runs or fewer in 14 of 17 games.

Pelfrey struck out five, walked two and gave up six hits and one earned run in his longest outing since pitching nine innings against San Diego on June 8.