Stallings Hits Walk-Off Homer As Pirates Beat Mets

PITTSBURGH — Jacob Stallings hit a fly ball down the leftfield line and stood in the batter’s box. He was watching and hoping. Stallings liked what he saw. The ball sailed over the wall for a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning off closer Edwin Díaz that rallied the Pirates to a 9-7 victory over the stunned New York Mets on Saturday night. Trailing 6-0, the Pirates scored all their runs in the final two innings – five in the eighth and four in the ninth. Stallings got his sixth career game-ending RBI. It was the third walk-off slam at PNC Park, which opened in 2001. The others were by Brian Giles in ’01 and Rob Mackowiak in 2004. J.D. Davis hit a pair of two-run homers for New York in his first start since coming off the 60-day injured list, and rookie starter Tylor Megill pitched six scoreless innings. But it wasn’t enough on a miserable day for the Mets, who detailed injuries to star shortstop Francisco Lindor and ace Jacob deGrom before the game. Lindor is out indefinitely with a strained oblique, and deGrom is sidelined with forearm tightness in the latest round of health setbacks for the NL East leaders. New York dropped to 2-4 against the last-place Pirates over the past 10 days — including two blown saves by Díaz in games the Mets led by at least five runs. This time, he was tagged for his third blown save in 21 chances this season after Seth Lugo gave up five runs in the eighth inning. Down 7-5 in the ninth, the Pirates loaded the bases with one out as Ke’Bryan Hayes was hit by a pitch, Bryan Reynolds walked and John Nogowski hit an infield single. Díaz (3-4) struck out Gregory Polanco looking on a full-count pitch. But then Stallings pulled his slam down the left field line beyond the outstretched glove of Kevin Pillar, who climbed over the wall in a desperate attempt to make the catch. Díaz had not allowed a home run in 48 1/3 innings dating to last season, the longest active streak in the majors.