FEELING ALL WRIGHT
Wild Niese battles through for ‘W’
PITTSBURGH — Jon Niese had struggled with command before, but Saturday nothing the Mets lefty threw for a period in the fourth inning was going where he wanted it to.
“That’s a bad feeling for a pitcher,” Niese said. “When you are trying like heck to throw a strike and you can’t, it’s scary. It’s a bad feeling.”
But as he has this season more so than in the past, Niese battled through the rough patch. This time, however, the Met bats picked him up and the bullpen slammed the door on a 5-3 win over the Pirates at PNC Park.
The Mets (37-44) snapped a three-game losing streak, and at the halfway mark of the season they are two games ahead of where they were in 2013 after 81 games.
The Mets j umped on Pirates righthander Gerrit Cole (6-4) in his first game back from the disabled list with shoulder fatigue. Eric Campbell, starting his second straight game at third base for the injured David Wright, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Daniel Murphy drove in two runs and Eric Young Jr., back hitting ninth with Niese batting eighth, the third time in the last seven games Terry Collins had the pitcher hit No. 8, stole three bases, including a double-steal with Curtis Granderson to set up the Mets’ two-run second inning.
“It’s coming at the right time, when I am not pitching real good,” Niese said of the run support he has received in his last two starts. “Hopefully I’ll get it together.”
Niese got through six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out five.
Jeurys Familia and closer Jenrry Mejia combined to pitch three perfect innings to give the Mets their first win since Tuesday.
In the fourth, Niese (5-4) gave up a leadoff double to Andrew McCutchen and then a single to Josh Harrison after striking out Gabby Sanchez. Niese then lost it. He walked three straight — Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Chris Stewart — forcing in two runs. With the bases loaded, Niese struck out Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco to get out of it. In the fifth, Niese gave up a two-out double to Sanchez and then an RBI single to Walker.
Niese pitched a perfect sixth in his 20th straight outing without allowing more than three runs, dating to last season.
“I was the worst pitcher in the world in the fourth, the dumbest pitcher in the fifth,” Niese said with a laugh, “and then I was back to normal in the sixth.”