Pirates 10, Mets 6
NEW YORK -- David Wright tied the New York Mets' all-time hit record in style, driving in half of their runs Tuesday, but it wasn't enough as the Pittsburgh Pirates outslugged them.
Pedro Alvarez homered and drove in four runs as the Pirates used a pair of big innings early to pick up a 10-6 win at Citi Field.
Wright had three RBIs while hitting a homer and two-run single to tie Ed Kranepool's franchise record of 1,418 hits.
Wright did it in half the time of the former Mets' first baseman, who played for the team for 18 years, including their inaugural 1962 season.
The current Mets third baseman is in his ninth season and has been considered the face of the franchise for most of them.
He tied the record on a sinking liner that bounced just in front of right fielder Garrett Jones to score two runs with two outs in the seventh. That brought the Mets within 8-6 to cap a three-run inning.
The Mets put the milestone on the board as the sparse crowd cheered, but reliever Jared Hughes then got Scott Hairston on a groundout to end the inning.
The Mets got no closer, ending their four-game winning streak.
Wandy Rodriguez (12-13) allowed three runs on four hits in six innings for Pittsburgh, striking out three and walking two.
Collin McHugh (0-3) was pulled after just 1 1/3 innings, after coughing up seven runs on five hits, while walking three and failing to strike out a batter.
Jones added a two-run homer in the ninth off Jon Rauch, his 25th of the year. Wright hit his 20th homer of the season while Justin Turner hit his second for the Mets.
Lefty reliever Robert Carson left the game in the seventh with what the Mets said was a strained left elbow.
After the teams combined for seven runs and three homers in the first inning, Pittsburgh quickly boosted its 4-3 lead in the second.
The Pirates pushed across three more for a 7-3 lead, with Josh Harrison tripling in two runs before scoring on Turner's error at second base.
Pittsburgh made it 8-3 in the fifth against Elvin Ramirez, who kept it from being a lot more. Ramirez walked three batters in the inning, forcing in a run with his base on balls to Alvarez. But with no one out and the bases still jammed, Ramirez retired the 7-8-9 hitters without allowing another run.
Alvarez tagged McHugh with a three-run shot to left-center with two outs in the first for a 4-0 Pittsburgh lead.
The Mets pulled within 4-3 in the bottom of the inning with back-to-back homers from Turner and Wright. Amazingly, it marked the first time this season the team had hit consecutive homers.
NOTES: Mets left fielder Jason Bay would have started against lefty Pirates starter Rodriguez, but was out with back stiffness, manager Terry Collins said before the game. ... Right-hander R.A. Dickey will get to choose whether he makes his final start in the regular season finale or the previous game, Collins said. ... Several Mets icons will gather as part of a fundraiser on Nov. 1 to benefit Shannon Dalton Forde, the club's long-time public relations staffer, who was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer recently. Former Mets pitcher Ron Darling will emcee the event and there will be an autograph session with former Mets Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, John Franco and several other former players. For ticket or donation information, visit www.hopeshinesforshannon.com. ... Alvarez's homer in the first was his 30th of the season, marking the first time he reached that milestone.
