PITT OF DESPAIR

Pitiful Mets drop seventh straight with ugly loss to Pirates

PITTSBURGH — The Mets’ already sinking ship got attacked by Pirates on Friday and was left for scrap on the banks of the Allegheny River.

A brutal stretch of baseball continued for manager Buck Showalter’s beleaguered bunch with the kind of embarrassing performance that might leave scars. The only thing missing was the laugh track.

Sloppy on defense, with awful pitching for a second straight night, the Mets lost, 14-7, to the Pirates at PNC Park. The loss was the Mets’ seventh straight and pushed them four games below .500.

“I want to say that it’s part of the season, but I have been saying that way too long,” said Francisco Lindor, who committed a key thirdinning error. “It’s time to turn the page. It’s time to start to be better. We have got to be better.”

The ugliness came a night after the Mets had a late meltdown in Atlanta and surrendered six runs in the final three innings of a 13-10 loss that completed a Braves sweep. After that defeat, the Mets could at least feel good about a lineup that broke out. There were no such redeeming qualities about this latest loss, as 43-yearold lefty Rich Hill limited the Mets to two earned runs over seven innings. The Mets scored five garbage runs in the ninth.

Tylor Megill got hurt by his defense — the Mets were charged for two errors — but also had a rough night on the mound. The right-hander was knocked out after 3 2/₃ innings during which he allowed eight runs — six earned — on eight hits and three walks, raising his ERA to 5.00.

“We’ve got some guys that were good pitchers last year and I thought they would be a little further along,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Tylor, I keep thinking he’s ready to take off, but we didn’t exactly help him defensively tonight.”

A night earlier, Justin Verlander was yanked after three poor innings and the Mets emptied their bullpen, producing a residual effect that limited their options.

On this night, Mark Vientos’ RBI single in the second and Lindor’s homer got the Mets to 2-2 in the third, but the game unraveled on Megill in the bottom of

the inning. Carlos Santana hit a grounder near second base that should have been an inning-ending double play, but Lindor booted it and both runners were safe. After Jack Suwinski walked to load the bases, Ke’Bryan Hayes stroked a two-run single.

“It was a mental mistake — I tried to rush the play,” Lindor said. “That’s been my errors this year, trying to finish the play without having the baseball in my glove. It’s unacceptable. Today is on me. That play right there was going to close out the inning. Megill was pitching good and had the momentum.”

The Pirates kept applying pressure on the Mets’ defense and were rewarded. Ji Hwan Bae bunted, and Eduardo Escobar’s throw sailed over first base, bringing in two runs. Josh Palacios followed with an RBI single that buried the Mets in a 7-2 hole.

The Mets’ shaky defense began in the second as Starling Marte backed off Austin Hedges’ fly to right near the sidewall and watched the ball plunk in fair territory for a two-run double.

The rampage continued in the fourth. Megill recorded two quick outs before Andrew McCutchen walked and Santana’s single put runners on the corners. Suwinski smashed an RBI double to give the Pirates an 8-2 lead and end Megill’s night. Lefty Zach Muckenhirn surrendered a double to Hayes that brought in another two runs before retiring Bae for the final out.

Showalter was asked if Megill’s spot in the rotation might be in jeopardy.

“Right now, I am just absorbing a lot of other things that we have to try to get better at,” Showalter said. “He’s had some good outings, competitive outings. I wish we would have played a little bit better defensively.”