Pirates hold on in extras, defeat Mets for first win of season

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Mar 29, 2026

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — The Pirates earned their first win of the season on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field, but they needed some free baseball to do it.

The Pirates beat the New York Mets, 4-3, avoiding a sweep on 10th-inning RBI singles from Ryan O’Hearn and Henry Davis. O’Hearn’s single, his third of the game, was just the Pirates’ second hit since the fifth inning.

Jose Urquidy allowed just one run in the 10th for the save. He issued a leadoff walk to Francisco Lindor and an immediate Juan Soto double, but Francisco Lindor was thrown out trying to score from first. Bo Bichette grounded out, then Jorge Polanco’s drive to right field was caught on the warning track to end the game.

Yohan Ramirez, Mason Montgomery, Isaac Mattson, Dennis Santana and Urquidy completed 5⅔ innings without allowing an earned run.

Despite the win, the Pirates struggled badly with runners in scoring position for the second consecutive game. They went 3 for 14 on Sunday and left 12 runners on, following a loss Saturday where they went 2 for 18 and left 17 on base.

Sunday’s game started differently. Mets starter Nolan McLean opened the game with walks of Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe, with Cruz coming home on O’Hearn’s single down the right field line.

Carmen Mlodzinski struck out a career-high eight batters in 4⅓ innings. He struck out the side in both the first and third innings: striking out Lindor, Soto and Bichette in the first on a curve, a splitter and a fastball, then striking out all three in the third on a fastball, a splitter and another heater, respectively.

The strikeouts were encouraging, as were just two earned runs. The second came in the fifth, as Mlodzinski allowed a triple to Lindor and a single to Soto before he was pulled for Ramirez.

Lowe continued his stellar start to his time in Pittsburgh, going 2 for 3 with a solo homer, a double and two walks. He slid around a tag from second baseman Marcus Semien on the double, reaching safely despite the ball beating him to the bag.

On the mound

Ramirez completed a strong series with 1⅔ scoreless innings after relieving Mlodzinski. He struck out two and walked one. He threw four scoreless innings in two appearances against the Mets, giving the Pirates a chance to win after both Mlodzinski and Paul Skenes didn’t go deep into their respective games.

At the plate

The RISP woes are concerning for the Pirates, especially after their 2025 struggles. While Lowe and O’Hearn have both had strong starts, the Pirates need more from their returners.

Bryan Reynolds went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts Sunday. He grounded into a fielder’s choice with two on and two outs in the ninth. The Pirates had just one hit from the fifth inning until extras: a Cruz single off lefty Sean Manaea in the seventh.

Most valuable player

O’Hearn went 3 for 5 and drove in two of the Pirates’ three runs.

Up next

The Pirates travel to Cincinnati for a three-game series against the Reds beginning Monday at 6:40 p.m. Right-hander Braxton Ashcraft will make his season debut against Reds right-hander Chase Burns. The game will be televised on FS1 and SportsNet Pittsburgh+, and broadcast on the radio on 93.7 The Fan.

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