The Mets entered the ninth with a 3-1 lead. Against reliever Jeurys Familia (3-4), Elias Diaz, Corey Dickerson and Gregory Polanco opened with singles, scoring Diaz to make it 3-2. Familia walked Jordy Mercer to load the bases and was lifted.

Anthony Swarzak gave up Freese's base hit on his first pitch, giving Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead. After Austin Meadows struck out, Josh Bell followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3.

Jose Bautista had an RBI double, Asdrubal Cabrera had an RBI single and Wilmer Flores homered for New York, which has lost eight of its past nine.

Pittsburgh starter Ivan Nova allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, with two strikeouts and no walks. Nova is 2-0 with five runs allowed in four starts since he came off the disabled list (finger injury).

Felipe Vazquez (3-2) pitched two scoreless, one-hit innings.

New York starter Zack Wheeler pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up five hits, with seven strikeouts and one walk. He got lifted after reaching 105 pitches, 75 of them strikes.

Wheeler has lasted at least six innings in 11 of his 15 starts and allowed three runs or fewer nine times.

The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the third. Nova hit leadoff hitter Amed Rosario, and Wheeler bunted Rosario to second. An out later, Bautista doubled to right, scoring Rosario. Cabrera singled past third base to drive in Bautista.

In the sixth, Flores lined a one-out homer, his sixth, to left-center to make it 3-0.

Against New York reliever Robert Gsellman in the eighth, Pittsburgh pinch hitter Starling Marte led off with a double. He stole third -- his 17th steal and the Pirates' first steal of third base -- and came home on Meadows' sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 3-1.

--Field Level Media