Benches clear, Wilmer Difo, Bryan Reynolds homer as Pirates win wild game with Mets

The downpour that interrupted the second inning with the bases loaded sent fans scrambling for cover. Despite the 39-minute rain delay, this game proved to be worth the price of admission.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets on Friday night provided a throwback game to their early 1990s rivalry, one that had a little bit of everything for the season-best crowd of 18,119 at PNC Park:

A bases-loaded, two-run single by Adam Frazier. A rare Kevin Newman error at shortstop. And an inning-ending play that led to verbal altercation between Mets starter Marcus Stroman and Pirates first baseman John Nogowski and a benches-clearing scrum.

A pair of 400-foot solo blasts by Wilmer Difo and Bryan Reynolds put the finishing touches on a tension-filled 4-1 win by the NL Central last-place Pirates over the NL East-leading Mets.

Where Nogowski tried to laugh off the incident, Stroman didn’t hold back and called Nogowski a “clown.”

“I’m sure I’ll read it on TMZ or something like that,” said Nogowski, who has 15 hits in eight games with the Pirates. “I’m not too concerned about it, man. We got the win. It’s been a little while for him, so maybe a little frustrated. I’m trying to win the series tomorrow, and then focus on the next day. That’s my only concern and all I’m really worried about. Not what he’s gonna say.”

It was the fifth consecutive game between the Pirates and Mets, their first in the second half. They split the first four meetings, with the Pirates pulling off a 6-5 comeback victory on Sunday at Citi Field before the All-Star break.

“There have been a ton of emotions,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We’re at their place and their crowd was into it. Our crowd got into it, which was cool. They stayed into it as we continued to go. A lot of fun because there’s been a ton of energy this entire series.”

It was the fourth consecutive loss for Stroman (6-8), who hasn’t won since June 12 and gave up two runs on eight hits in five innings. Not only did the Pirates hit Stroman hard but All-Star starters Frazier and Reynolds were among the first to defend Nogowski in the scrum as it headed toward home plate.

“That means a lot,” said Nogowski, who was acquired in a trade from St. Louis on July 5. “That’s exactly where I would be if one of those guys was in that situation. I would want to be the first one out there. Pretty special for those guys to have your back this early.”

The Pirates (35-56) scored two runs in the second inning, which was interrupted by a rainstorm after Nogowski, Difo and Newman all singled off Stroman to load the bases with one out. When play resumed, Stroman got Chad Kuhl to strike out looking but Adam Frazier followed with a single to left to score Nogowski and Difo for a 2-0 lead.

Ke’Bryan Hayes followed by hitting a 103.8-mph rocket that knocked Stroman’s glove off his hand for an infield single to load the bases again, but Reynolds went down swinging for the final out.

Kuhl (3-5) had his own issues against the Mets (47-41), allowing five walks and two hits on 86 pitches in five innings but got out of jams in the first and third thanks to a pair of 4-6-3 double plays. Kuhl left runners on first and second in the second inning, then stranded Stroman at third base in the third after getting Francisco Lindor to ground into the double play and striking out Dominic Smith.

After Pete Alonso drew a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, Newman’s errorless streak at shortstop to start the season ended after 76 games. Newman was playing behind second base in the shift when a Jeff McNeil grounder bounced off him, giving the Mets runners on first and second with no outs.

Newman’s errorless streak was a club record by a shortstop and the best by a National League shortstop to start a season. Omar Vizquel owns MLB’s longest errorless streak to start a season at 89 games, set with Cleveland in 2000. The MLB record for most errorless games in a season is 110 games, set by Mike Bordick with Baltimore in 2002.

“The fact that he went 76 games at shortstop, that’s fairly amazing with the number of plays he had,” Shelton said, “and it ended up getting broken by a really challenging play.”

Shelton noted that Newman was on the other side of the bag on the error but later made a similar play in the eighth, backhanding a McNeil grounder and flipping it to Frazier’s bare hand for a force out at second.

“The play that he made, not only getting to that ball, but flipping to Frazier there, I think it shows to how hard he’s worked on his defense,” Shelton said, “and he didn’t let one play dictate how he was gonna play.”

The error, however, proved costly. Alonso advanced to second on the error, to third on Michael Conforto’s flyout to right and scored on Jonathan Villar’s grounder to short to cut the Pirates’ lead to 2-1.

Reynolds was hit by a pitch in the fifth, a ruling that was upheld even after the Mets challenged. Ben Gamel laid a bunt down the third base line, reaching first when Stroman’s throw skipped past Alonso at first. Reynolds reached third but Gamel put the brakes on when McNeil backed up the play, and was caught in a 4-6-3-4 rundown.

Stroman got out of the jam when Nogowski lined out to first to end the inning, but Nogowski took exception to Stroman’s celebratory jump off the mound. As the two exchanged words, both benches cleared and caused a scrum in front of home plate.

“He was fired up for his team to get that out. You have two competitive guys out there, stands full, it gets a little heated sometimes. But, shoot, that’s why we love it,” Nogowski said. “He’s a grown man. He can act the way he wants to. That was a big spot in the game. Guys want to get you out, that means you’re doing well. I want guys to want to get me out. I had no problem with the way that he was celebrating or anything like that.”

Even as that settled down, the jawing continued between Nogowski at first base and Stroman from the dugout even after Alonso hit a leadoff double off Chasen Shreve and Conforto drew a one-out walk. Chris Stratton got the final out, a pop-up to first that saw James McCann almost run into Nogowski on the base line.

“I put my head down, literally looking at our dugout – you can look at the video – and he starts running his moth, saying that I’m talking (trash),” Stroman said. “I’m never one to let any man talk down to me, especially when it’s not warranted at all.”

The Pirates fed off the emotion of the scrum, and their enthusiasm escalated when Difo led off the sixth by driving Drew Smith’s 1-0 pitch 410 feet off the last row of the right field seats for a 3-1 Pirates lead.

“It made some type of difference, especially with the benches clearing out like that and the adrenaline’s going up and everyone’s feeling the adrenaline,” Difo said. “It just ignited a level of competition that was much needed, not only in the game but especially in our dugout.”

Reynolds followed in the seventh by smacking a Jeury Familia 3-2 sinker 431 feet to right-center for a career-best 17th homer of the season, increasing the Pirates’ lead to a three-run cushion.

The Pirates got four scoreless innings from their bullpen, as Richard Rodriguez closed out the ninth for his 13th save, and were hoping that the momentum would carry them into the second half.

“Any time you’re playing these guys three, four days in a row and then turn around and play ‘em again, there’s always going to be a little chippiness maybe or whatnot,” Nogowski said. “They have so many good guys over there. I’m friends with half of ‘em. We just play hard. Baseball right now, there’s so much talent. There’s so much competitiveness. You don’t get here unless you’re an ultimate competitor and you enjoy that back-and-forth. I think every single one in this clubhouse is like that. I’m sure those guys are like that over there. It’s been fun when you’re going at guys. They’re a great team. They have great players. We want to show we’re right there with them.”