Breaking down Carlos Mendoza's pitching decision, and Mets' collapse against Pirates

For nearly six innings on Monday afternoon, Christian Scott only made one mistake against the Pirates lineup.

The Mets rookie right-hander battled against Andrew McCutchen and issued a nine-pitch walk. Then, Scott left a splitter a little too high, and Oneil Cruz belted it for a go-ahead two-run home run.

In 5⅔ innings, they were the only two baserunners that Scott allowed. He finished with three strikeouts and just the two earned runs allowed but was pulled by Carlos Mendoza at 77 pitches after recording two outs in the sixth inning.

From there, the bottom fell out for the Mets. Eric Orze and Adrian Houser combined to give up five earned runs as part of a nightmarish sixth inning and an 8-2 Mets loss against the Pirates on Monday afternoon at PNC Park.

The Mets finished their eight-game road trip against the Pirates and Nationals with a 4-4 record. They will head back home with a 44-45 record before another three-game series with the Nationals

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"I think coming away with this, we can still look at it positively," Brandon Nimmo told reporters. "Yeah, definitely there's some games that have gotten away from us, but honestly, that's the story of the year so far. We haven't been able to lock down wins all the time, and that's a problem, but we're hoping to to address it.

"We're hoping to continue to get better at it. We know that we went on a streak there where we did a lot better, so we know it's in there."

The decision to pull Christian Scott

Mendoza said with Scott pitching on normal rest for the first time in his career, the rookie was capped around 75 pitches. Despite a dominant effort, that limit came to pass against the middle of the Pirates' lineup.

"It's a tough spot, obviously, but this kid's too important," Mendoza told reporters. "We've got to protect him, especially after he threw 99 pitches his last time out, going on regular rest for the first time in his career and then going again his next time through on regular rest."

Scott said he learned of the restriction on Sunday before his start, and he respect the intentions of the leaders of the team.

"I wouldn't say frustrating. Obviously, I really trust their process," Scott said. "My whole career here, they've done great by me, so I'm just really blessed to be in this position. It's a lot of hard work to be able to go in and compete on five days for the first time, so I was able to do that and try to get through six and did what I can i that position."

Despite only allowing two baserunners, Scott was still unable to pin down his first win. He is 0-2 through seven starts despite notching a 1.03 WHIP and 4.15 ERA across 39 innings.

A rough debut for Eric Orze

After Scott exited, Orze came on for his MLB debut and dealt with some harsh luck.

In the opening at-bat against the switch-hitting Bryan Reynolds, a fringe changeup was ruled low and ball four. Cruz singled to left field and Rowdy Tellez beat out a ground ball that was gloved by a diving Mark Vientos in the middle of the infield to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.

After Houser replaced Orze, Nick Gonzales belted a two-run double on a hanging sinker into right field. Orze was charged with three runs without recording an out.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity," Orze said. "Obviously, it didn't go the way I wanted, but I felt confident, I felt good and I'm happy to get the first one out of the way and go forward from here."

Gonzales moved to third on a fielding error by Jeff McNeil and then scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2. Josh Palacios capped the five-run inning with a solo home run to right field.

Houser gave up one more earned run in the eighth inning to finish with three earned runs allowed on five hits and two strikeouts in 2⅓ innings. It was his worst outing since entering the Mets' bullpen in early May.

"We went through a lot," Mendoza said of the bullpen's performance on the road trip. "We started this road trip playing a man short still and that's why we had to push starters when maybe we could've been more aggressive. I thought they got outs when we needed it and there were days when we couldn't get the job done."

Brandon Nimmo stays hot

On a day where the Pirates' Mitch Keller largely kept the Mets' offense in check, it was Brandon Nimmo that struck the only blow.

In the top of the sixth inning, Nimmo belted a 3-0 cutter over the center-field wall for a 428-foot two-run home run, evening the score at 2-2. It was the Mets' lone damage against Keller, who worked eight innings while scattering seven hits and striking out six.

"Just location, situation," Nimmo said. "Just understanding the game, becoming a little more mature in my approach and as a hitter. Just was able to get something middle and pull the trigger on it."

The home run was Nimmo's 14th of the season. He finished 2-for-4 to boost his average to .252. The Mets left fielder had a strong series against the Pirates, even with an 0-for-3 night on Friday. He was 6-for-15 with three RBI and two runs scored.

On Sunday, Nimmo opened the scoring with an RBI double in the Mets' eventual 3-2 win.