Pirates 13, Mets 1

4/30/2008 5:38 PM

By RACHEL COHEN
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -Oliver Perez couldn't find the plate, Luis Castillo couldn't find the ball and Jose Reyes couldn't find second base.

The Mets bumbled through a sloppy performance Wednesday, and the Pirates seemed to make them pay for every mistake. Pittsburgh scored nine unearned runs in a 13-1 victory that had New York closer Billy Wagner questioning his team's effort afterward.

``There was no get-up-and-go,'' Wagner said. ``That can't happen.''

Pirates right fielder Xavier Nady, traded by the Mets for Perez and Roberto Hernandez in 2006, went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Even Pittsburgh's one scary moment appeared to have a happy ending. Starter Tom Gorzelanny was bent over in pain in the fifth inning because of tightness in his back. But the left-hander got the last out of the inning to make himself eligible for the win, and later said he didn't expect to miss a start.

Gorzelanny (2-3) allowed just one hit and no runs.

``I think it was the adrenaline that enabled me to get through that inning,'' he said. ``It definitely was not the best feeling. I tried to fight it through with two outs in that inning. I wanted the win. There was no way they were going to take me out of the game.''

The Pirates scored their most runs since a 13-3 win Aug. 11 over the Giants. The Mets had just two hits for the second time in less than a week; it also happened in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

``It might be good if we worked on a little bit of everything,'' a frustrated Wagner said as New York heads into May with a 14-12 record. ``Bullpen's been shoddy. Starting pitching, we've had our ups and downs. Hitting comes and goes.''

And don't forget the defensive lapses.

In Pittsburgh's seven-run second, the Mets botched two plays that could have ended the inning.

It all started when Perez walked the bases loaded with one out. Gorzelanny hit a slow roller to second, but Castillo dropped the ball for an error as he tried to start a double play. Perez (2-2) then walked in another run, nearly hitting Nate McLouth on ball four.

After a single and a sacrifice fly drove in two more runs to make it 4-0, Ryan Doumit ripped a hit down the third-base line. He got caught in a rundown between first and second, the Mets' second chance to escape the inning.

Castillo chased him toward first then threw to Carlos Delgado. When Doumit reversed direction, there was nobody for Delgado to throw to: Reyes wasn't covering second, and Doumit made it there easily.

The shortstop said he was in position to catch a relay throw up the third-base line.

``When I try to go to second base, it's kind of late for me,'' Reyes said.

That knocked Perez out of the game after 55 pitches - just 28 strikes - in 1 2-3 innings. He walked five, giving him 14 over his last three starts. Wagner was disappointed that the left-hander couldn't hang in longer a day after New York used seven pitchers in an 11-inning win.

Said Perez, ``Sometimes you don't have your stuff. You have to find what you can do to get out of the inning, trying to make outs and make pitches. That's why I have to throw strikes.''

Notes: The start of the game was delayed 40 minutes after construction workers at the Mets' new ballpark broke a water main. ... Mets C Brian Schneider was released from the hospital after six days of treatment for a staph infection in his left thumb. He wasn't sure when he will return. ... The Pirates snapped a six-game road losing streak. ... Former Gold Glove first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz replaced Nady as a pinch-runner in the seventh and stayed in the game to play right field. It was his first stint in the outfield since 2003.