Pirates rally to beat Mets

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

The Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled so mightily to score runs this season, they weren’t going to let one practically handed to them get away.

Neil Walker advanced to third when New York center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis misplayed Walker’s deep fly ball leading off the eighth and scored on Clint Barmes’ sacrifice fly two batters later to lift the Pirates to an unlikely 5-4 victory.

“It’s a gift and we were able to cash it in,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said.

Walker’s fly ball off reliever Jon Rauch (3-3) appeared to be harmless when it left the bat. Nieuwenhuis and left fielder Mike Baxter — both of whom entered the game as pinch hitters in the top of the eighth — moved toward each other to play it, with Nieuwenhuis raising his arm to call off Baxter.

Problem is, Baxter never stopped coming. The two were standing next to each other when the ball caromed off Nieuwenhuis’ mitt and rolled to the wall.

“You’re out there and there’s a lot of noise, Mike is calling for it, Kirk is calling for it and they can’t hear each other,” New York manager Terry Collins said. “But once the center fielder calls it, it’s his ball. Somehow Mike has to know the center fielder is coming. We’ve just got to catch the ball there.”

Walker raced to third then gave the Pirates their first lead when he slid just under the tag of catcher Mike Nickeas following a wide throw from Lucas Duda.

“We had to send him,” Hurdle said of Walker. “There was no not sending him.”

Mike McKenry tied it with a two-run homer in the seventh off starter Johan Santana, who couldn’t protect an early 4-0 lead.

Jared Hughes (1-0) earned his first major league win in relief. Joel Hanrahan worked the ninth for his 10th save.

David Wright had two hits for the Mets to lift his batting average to a major league-best .415. Ex-Pirate Ronny Cedeno added two hits, but New York committed three errors.