New York Mets vs Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score on Jul 16, 2021

Bryan Reynolds and Wilmer Difo homered Friday to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the visiting New York Mets 4-1 in a game that featured a benches-clearing incident.

Adam Frazier added a two-run single for the Pirates.

Pittsburgh starter Chad Kuhl (3-5) pitched five innings, giving up one run (none earned) on two hits, with five walks and three strikeouts.

Richard Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his 13th save.

New York starter Marcus Stroman (6-8) allowed two runs and eight hits in five innings, with no walks and three strikeouts.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor left in the fifth because of right side soreness. He grabbed at that side and did not make much of an effort to run to first when he grounded out.

Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead in the second. John Nogowski led off with a single to left and went to second on Difo's base hit to left-center. After Jacob Stallings lined out, Kevin Newman singled to shallow center to load the bases.

With Kuhl due up, there was a 39-minute rain delay. The Pirates -- as did the Mets -- opted to stick with their starter, who struck out. Frazier's two-out single to left drove in Nogowski and Difo.

In the fourth, Pete Alonso drew a four-pitch walk. Jeff McNeil reached on Newman's fielding error at shortstop. It was Newman's first error in 76 games, a National League record at the start of a season.

Alonso went to third on Michael Conforto's flyout and scored on Jonathan Villar's groundout to make it 2-1.

In the fifth, Pittsburgh had a runner on third with two outs when Nogowski lined out to first. Nogowski appeared to take exception when Stroman jumped and pumped his fist to celebrate getting out of the inning. They barked while moving toward each other, and both benches and bullpens emptied. There was minor shoving. No one was ejected.

Difo led off the Pirates' sixth with a homer to right, his second, and Reynolds hit his 17th homer in the seventh, to right-center with one out, to extend the lead to 4-1.

--Field Level Media