After a wild Opening Day loss at Citi Field, the Pittsburgh Pirates looked to rebound in Game 2 against the New York Mets. The series highlighted both flashes of brilliance and early-season growing pains as Pittsburgh searched for consistency on both offense and defense.
Game 2 started with a gem from Mitch Keller. Keller lived up to the “Money Mitch” nickname, tossing six scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks. He kept the Mets completely off the board and dominated throughout his outing. For six innings, the Pirates had every chance to take a lead, but the offense struggled to capitalize. The Pirates left 17 runners on base and just had no one to produce for them when it mattered in the first nine innings. The game remained scoreless after nine and moved into extras.
The Pirates finally got on the board in the tenth on an RBI single from Nick Gonzales, but one run was all they could muster up. The bottom half of the tenth inning was pure chaos. Hunter Barco entered in a high-pressure situation to make his season debut. Barco was tasked with trying to close it out with the automatic runner on second base in a one-run game. Barco began poorly, as he loaded the bases and then gave up a single with no outs that tied the game. With the bases still loaded, hope seemed fleeting. Barco responded by getting a ground ball with the infield drawn in, and a perfect flip from Brandon Lowe to Henry Davis at the plate resulted in the first out. Juan Soto would then step to the plate and hope was most certainly hanging in the balance. Almost miraculously, Barco made an incredible play on a slow tapper from Soto, again flipping to Davis to record another out. Both of these plays at the plate were made with very little time to spare. Bo Bichette then flew out to right field, and the Young Buc got out of the immense jam while only giving up one run and extended the game into the 11th inning.
In the top of the 11th, Bryan Reynolds delivered a go-ahead infield hit that just trickled down the third base line and would not go foul. Reynolds was pumping his arms and had a sarcastic smile after that one, but the smiles would fade quickly. In what was deemed a questionable decision, Manager Don Kelly kept Barco in for another inning. This was one of many managerial decisions that were questioned in this one, and this proved to be costly. Barco would give up a walk-off three-run homer to Luis Robert Jr. and the Mets stole game 2. The story of the day was offensive struggles, missed opportunities, and managerial decisions with key contributors left on the bench in moments where they could have changed the game.
Game 3 gave the Buccos another chance to pick up their first win of the young season. Pittsburgh got off to a quick start against Mets pitcher Nolan McLean. Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe started the game with walks, and Ryan O'Hearn drove in the first run with an RBI single.
On the mound, Carmen Mlodzinski was dominant early. He struck out the side in order, an order that included Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette. Some of the league’s very best. On top of that, he repeated that feat the next time through the top of the order as well. Six of hisstrikeouts came against the heart of the Mets lineup. He finished with eight strikeouts in 4.1 innings, allowing two runs and issuing no walks. This was an encouraging first start for Mlodzinski after having lots of question marks surrounding him heading into the season.
Offensively, the Pirates regained the lead in the third inning. Brandon Lowe launched his third home run in as many games to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. Lowe also doubled in this game and has been on a tear in a Pirates uniform to start the 2026 season.
The Mets tied it in the fifth on a single from Juan Soto, and that would ultimately end Mlodzinski’s day. The Pirates’ bullpen responded well after Mlodzinski, with Yohan Ramirez, Mason Montgomery, and Isaac Mattson all offering up scoreless outings to keep the game tied at 2 heading to the ninth.
The ninth inning was a missed opportunity for the Bucs. Henry Davis walked, and Jake Mangum executed a sacrifice bunt, moving the go-ahead run into scoring position. Oneil Cruz came up to the plate with a chance to make up for his early miscues this season, but he went down looking for the second out. After a Lowe walk, Reynolds grounded out to end the threat. Reynolds finished 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, continuing his early-season struggles alongside Cruz.
In the top of the tenth, Ryan O’Hearn quickly singled in a run to give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead. Later in the inning, Henry Davis added a key insurance run with a hard-hit single into right-center field, giving his team a 4-2 lead and a major confidence boost for himself. Hank clutched up when it mattered most.
The bottom of the tenth was setting up to be even more chaotic than the tenth inning in last night’s contest. Jose Urquidy made his Pirates debut and had to face the top of the Mets lineup. He walked Lindor to start and then gave up a gap shot off the bat of Juan Soto that was trouble from the start. However, a great relay from Cruz to Jared Triolo to Davis cut down Lindor at the plate and prevented the tying run from scoring. Urquidy then got Bichette to ground out for the second out. Every Pirates fan, player, staff member, and bat boy collectively held their breath in the following at-bat when Jorge Polanco sent a deep fly ball out to right field. Fortunately, Billy Cook was able to make the catch up against the wall and all of Pittsburgh could exhale. The Pirates secured their first win of the season by a 4-3 score and will leave Flushing, New York on a good note.
Raise it… and Hoist it!
The biggest takeaway from this series has to be the impact that Ryan O’Hearn and Brandon Lowe have already made on this 2026 Pirates team. They have completely fueled the production on the offensive end, and they have come through in big moments with professional at-bats. O’Hearn is batting an impressive .429 with a homer and three RBI’s, while Lowe is hitting .417 with three homers and four RBI’s. These guys were brought in to do exactly what they have done in this opening series of the season. If they can continue to provide this jolt to the lineup and produce professional at-bats, this team could be one to be reckoned with.
The Pirates will hit the road again as they head to Cincinnati for a three-game series against the Reds starting tomorrow night. Braxton Ashcraft will make his season debut for the Pirates against Chase Burns. First pitch is set for 6:40pm.
