Mar 29, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after striking out during the third inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
QUEENS, NY — The Mets could not overcome cold bats and the implosion of reliever Richard Lovelady to find walk-off heroics for a second-straight night, as they fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field for their first loss of the 2026 season.
Ryan O’Hearn drove in two runs on the day and broke a 2-2 deadlock to give the Pirates the lead in the top of the 10th with a lead-off, RBI single to score ghost runner Bryan Reynolds from second base. After coaxing a double play from Jared Triolo, Lovelady walked the next two men he faced before Henry Davis drove in an important insurance run with a clean single to center.
With closer Devin Williams and set-up man Brooks Raley unavailable, Lovelady was Mendoza’s only choice for the 10th.
The Mets (2-1) cut it to within a run in the bottom of the 10th when Juan Soto’s double into the right-center-field gap scored Luis Torrens from second base. But Francisco Lindor, who led off with a walk, was gunned down at home to keep the Pirates’ one-run advantage intact.
The call to send Lindor was a questionable one, considering there were no outs, offering three chances to bring in the tying run from just 90 feet away.
“Coming into the series, this was a team that we targeted that we were going to be aggressive,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You gotta give them credit. They executed. Especially with Lindor, he had a hell of a jump. As soon as the ball was put in play by Soto, he took off… I thought he was going to score.”
Bo Bichette grounded out, and Jorge Polanco flew out to the warning track to end it.
Held to just three runs over their last 18 regulation innings, the Mets struck out 16 times on Sunday. Half of those came from Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski, who set a new career-high in the process.
“We chased at times,” Mendoza said. “But I thought their starter did a pretty good job mixing, using the fastball and the split against lefties. That was pretty effective.”
Nolan McLean overcame an erratic start to his afternoon to gut out five innings, allowing two runs on four hits with a pair of walks and eight strikeouts. Those walks were surrendered to each of the first two batters he faced, doing so on just 11 pitches.
Oneil Cruz, who led off the game, came in to score on O’Hearn’s one-out single.
Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe continued his hot start to the season in the third when he launched his third home run in as many games, jumping on a four-seam fastball that sat in the upper-middle part of the zone and sending it over the right-field fence.
McLean attributed the colder conditions — it was 49 degrees and dropping at first pitch, with blustery winds — as an obstacle in finding the right touch on his pitches.
“Throwing into a headwind sometimes is a little tricky,” McLean said. “Especially when my stuff is moving a little more dramatically than it normally does. So it was just trying to find where I need to start my pitches, and it was a little bit later than I wanted to be in that, but once I found it, it felt good.”
The Mets quickly answered each of Pittsburgh’s opening runs. Consecutive singles from Robert Jr. and Brett Baty set up Marcus Semien’s runs-scoring sacrifice fly in the second. In the fifth, Soto drove home Lindor, who tripled Mlodzinski.
Mlodzinski had dominated the top portion of the Mets’ lineup of Lindor, Soto, and Bichette, holding the top of New York’s order to a combined 0-for-6 with six strikeouts through the first two turns.
Bichette’s struggles continue to grow with his new team. The Mets’ third baseman, who signed a three-year, $126 million contract over the winter, went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts on Sunday. He is 1-for-14 with a league-worst eight strikeouts to start the 2026 season.
“I think sometimes I’m between, sometimes trying to do too much,” Bichette said. “That’s pretty much what’s happening.”
