Anderson, Reynolds Homer For Pirates To Beat Mets In Game 1

NEW YORK — Tyler Anderson pitched five innings and helped himself with a tiebreaking homer, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-2 victory over Marcus Stroman and the New York Mets on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader. All-Star Bryan Reynolds also connected as last-place Pittsburgh bounced back from a 13-4 loss in the opener of the four-game set on Friday. John Nogowski had two hits and two RBI. Anderson (5-8) won consecutive starts for the second time this season, allowing two runs and six hits. He went winless in an eight-start span from May 15-June 28. The game was tied at 2 when Anderson went deep with two out in the fifth, driving a 1-1 cutter from Stroman (6-7) over the wall in right-center. It was Anderson’s second career homer in 152 at-bats and first since July 9, 2016, for Colorado against Philadelphia. It was Pittsburgh’s first homer by a pitcher since Steven Brault on Sept. 1, 2019, and the first go-ahead homer by a Pirates pitcher since Gerrit Cole on Aug. 26, 2017. It also was the second game-winning RBI by a Pittsburgh pitcher this year. The Dodgers are the only other team with multiple game-winning RBI from pitchers. Reynolds was robbed of a home run when Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo made a terrific leaping catch at the wall in the first. But Reynolds easily cleared the fence in right-center on his two-run homer off Trevor May in the sixth. John Nogowski continued his impressive start with the Pirates, hitting a two-run double in the fourth and a single in the sixth. He has 12 hits in five games since being acquired from St. Louis last weekend. Ke’Bryan Hayes padded Pittsburgh’s lead with an RBI double in the sixth off Drew Smith.