Offense finally flowing for Pirates, who look for more vs. Mets

The Pittsburgh Pirates desperately needed Saturday's offensive outburst, which helped snap a four-game losing streak.

The Pirates will next try to string victories together for the first time in two weeks when they host the New York Mets in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon.

Pittsburgh scored more than four runs for the first time in August during a 9-0 rout of the Mets. The Pirates will try to keep that offensive momentum going against lefty Sean Manaea (3-5, 4.33 ERA), who has been one of the Mets' more effective starters over the past month. Manaea has thrown six or more innings and allowed two runs or fewer in three consecutive starts and in four of his past five.

Manaea will oppose Pittsburgh right-hander Jared Jones (2-3, 4.02), who is aiming to bounce back from a subpar outing Tuesday at Milwaukee.

Ronny Simon jumpstarted the Pirates' bats on Saturday night with a two-run double in the first inning.

The Pirates pulled to within 4 1/2 games of the final National League wild-card spot but know they need to string together more performances similar to Saturday's to put themselves firmly back in playoff contention.

"We're gonna keep fighting, we need y'all's help the rest of the way," Pirates outfielder Jake Mangum, who had three hits on Saturday, said during a postgame interview on the Pittsburgh broadcast. "We got the home stretch coming up; y'all show up, be loud, and we're gonna keep fighting."

The stretch Mangum referred to will demand the Pirates' lineup produce consistently.

After Sunday's game, Pittsburgh will face Miami, Boston, Detroit, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego and St. Louis to round out their August schedule. All of those teams are at least within 3 1/2 games of a playoff spot.

The pitching needs to be sharp as well. Jones was not in his last outing as he failed to pitch past the fifth inning for the first time since July 2. He gave up three runs, including two home runs, on eight hits and one walk and struck out four over four innings.

Jones has faced the Mets only once -- April 16, 2024, when he allowed one hit over five scoreless innings and struck out seven without issuing a walk.

Manaea picked up a win Tuesday when he allowed two runs on seven hits and five walks and struck out seven over six innings in a 6-2 win at Cleveland. Manaea benefitted from an uptick in velo against the Guardians as he often touched 95 mph on his fastball, which is above his 90.8 mph season average, per Baseball Savant.

"Just let go. Let the fastball fly. Just attack them," Manaea said after the start. "I was trying to be a little too cute sometimes, but when I'm throwing hard like that, it's more just throwing the ball and seeing what happens."

Manaea is 0-1 with a 2.81 ERA in three starts and six career appearances overall against the Pirates. He pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief the last time he faced Pittsburgh on March 29 in a 4-3, 10-inning loss in New York.

The Mets got some good news about rookie outfielder Carson Benge, who suffered a jammed left wrist, as he could return to their lineup as early as Sunday. X-rays came back negative after he exited Friday's 6-4 win in the fourth inning and missed Saturday's contest.

The Mets added infielder Gabriel Arias to their active roster and optioned infielder Eric Wagaman to Triple-A Syracuse.

--Field Level Media