Pirates hammer Mets, finish three-game sweep with 30 runs

Oneil Cruz hit two home runs and had four RBIs, Henry Davis had four hits and the host Pittsburgh Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a 12-1 rout on Sunday afternoon.

Ke’Bryan Hayes continued his torrid hitting with three more hits and two RBIs as the Pirates recorded their first sweep over the Mets since Aug. 14-16, 2015. It was just their second series sweep of the season.

Over three days, the Pirates poured 30 runs on the Mets, who lost their third in a row and have dropped 13 of their past 16 games.

According to the Pirates’ broadcast, it was the first time Pittsburgh won all three games in a series by seven or more runs since May 13-15, 1935 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Cruz hit his 14th and 15th home runs of the season, and got the Pirates started quickly with a five-run first inning when he homered off Mets starter Frankie Montas (0-1). Tommy Pham added his second home run of the year in the first.

Montas made his second start in a Mets uniform and surrendered six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out five over four innings.

Cruz logged his second two-homer game of the season and first since May 23.

Bryan Reynolds hit his 10th home run in the fifth off reliever Dicky Lovelady, who was signed to a major league contract on Sunday. Hayes followed with a double and scored two batters later on an RBI single by Pham.

Luis Torrens and Jeff McNeil each had two hits to lead the Mets offensively, while Brandon Nimmo and Tyrone Taylor each had a double.

Torrens hit his second home run of the season off Pirates starter Mike Burrows in the fifth inning to account for New York’s lone run.

Burrows pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out five. Genesis Cabrera pitched one scoreless inning and Carmen Mlodzinski (2-5) threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two.

–Field Level Media