New York Mets vs Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score on May 28, 2017

The Sports Xchange
May 28, 2017

PITTSBURGH -- Jay Bruce took the Mets' team lead in RBIs by driving in two more on Sunday as New York rolled to a 7-2 series-clinching victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

Bruce finished the night 3-for-5 with two doubles and a run. He now has 34 RBIs on the season, passing Michael Conforto for tops on the team and pulling into a tie for 10th in the National League.

His breakout was part of a big turnaround for the New York offense. On Saturday, the Mets left five runners in scoring position in the first four innings, instead relying on the long ball as they staked an early 4-2 lead. However, they couldn't hold on to it late and lost 5-4 in 10 innings.

On Sunday, the Mets didn't provide as much power, but they pushed two runners across in the fourth inning and three in the fifth to build another sizable early lead. Nine different Mets had hits on the way to the rout, with Curtis Granderson going 3-for-5.

In the fourth, Bruce and Neil Walker singled. Both advanced on a wild pitch to get into scoring position for Asdrubal Cabrera, who drove them in with a double to the wall in center field.

In the fifth, pitcher Matt Harvey got it started with a single back through the legs of his mound opponent Tyler Glasnow. Granderson drove him in with a double. A single and a stolen base by Jose Reyes put two men in scoring position for Bruce, who brought them in with a liner to right over a drawn-in infield.

The first five New York runs came off Glasnow (2-4), who gave up only one hit through the first three innings, but it was all downhill after that. He ended up allowing eight hits in five innings. He struck out three.

The Mets added two runs off reliever Jhan Marinez. Granderson drove in Cabrera with an RBI single in the sixth, and Lucas Duda hit a solo home run in the seventh.

Harvey (4-3) won back-to-back starts for the second time this season and the first time since April 6 and 11 -- his first two starts of the season. He pitched six innings, which was his longest outing since April 21, and scattered six hits while giving up just one run.

Both Pirates runs were scored by Gregory Polanco. He hit a solo home run in the second and singled and scored on David Freese's RBI double in the eighth. Polanco finished 2-for-4. Since returning from the disabled list on May 26, he is 5-for-13 (.385) with two home runs.

Paul Sewald and Neil Ramirez combined to throw three innings of one-run ball in relief of Harvey.

NOTES: Pirates RHP Jameson Taillon threw 47 pitches in a three-inning rehab start for Double-A Altoona. It was his first appearance since recovering from surgery to treat testicular cancer on May 8. Taillon is expected to rejoin the team in Pittsburgh and throw a bullpen session on Tuesday. He will make at least one more rehab start before rejoining the rotation. ... Mets LHP Stephen Matz threw five perfect innings in his rehab start with Triple-A Las Vegas. It was Matz's second rehab start while recovering from a sprained flexor tendon. ... Mets OF Yoenis Cespedes (strained left hamstring) had his second rehab start indefinitely postponed after coming up with soreness in his quad in his first game back with Class A St. Lucie on Friday. ... Mets RHP Seth Lugo made his third rehab start on the way back from a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament. He threw six innings with Double-A Binghamton, allowing three runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts.