PITTSBURGH — The Mets had such a bad night that the home team didn’t have enough supplies to continue celebrating.
Fireworks detonated, as is the custom at PNC Park, following each of the Pirates’ homers Friday.
At least for the first six homers.
But when Rowdy Tellez unloaded for a grand slam in the eighth inning against Ty Adcock, a message appeared on the outfield screen.
“We have seven home runs tonight, which is the fifth time in Pirates history we have done this,” the message said. “So many homers that we have run out of fireworks.”
The only Mets “pitcher” who didn’t allow a homer was catcher Luis Torrens, who got the final out in the eighth inning in the team’s 14-2 loss.
Luis Severino, Jake Diekman and Adcock were less effective.
Three of the homers on this night came against Severino, whose worst outing of the season included seven earned runs allowed on nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
“The secondary pitches were not my strength today,” Severino said.
Diekman entered after Severino loaded the bases in the seventh with the Mets behind 4-2.
The struggling left-hander surrendered a grand slam to Bryan Reynolds that essentially made the eighth-inning carnage a moot point.
“[Diekman] is going through a very rough stretch right now,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Either he gets ahead and has a hard time putting hitters away or gets behind and ends up walking them. The fastball velocity is not there right now and our job is to get him back on track.”
The Mets lost a third straight — their longest losing streak since they were swept three games by the Dodgers in late May — and fell two games below .500.
“We have got to find a way of getting out of this wave and catching a good one,” Francisco Lindor said.
If the Mets’ brutal pitching performance wasn’t enough, there was also the matter of Paul Skenes.
The Mets got introduced to the stud rookie and became the latest team deflated by his high-octane arsenal.
Skenes (5-0) left to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 37,037 after allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over seven innings.
The right-hander has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of 10 starts to begin his major league career.
“He was really good, but I also thought we had some really good at-bats,” Mendoza said. “I thought we got guys on, but just couldn’t get the big hit. Overall the at-bats were good and to beat a guy like that not only do you have to get the guys on, you have got to get the big hit.”
Jeff McNeil jumped on an 0-2 fastball from Skenes in the third inning and launched it for a leadoff homer that gave the Mets their first run.
The homer was the fifth this season for McNeil.
Pete Alonso’s double leading off the fourth led to the Mets extending their lead to 2-0.
Francisco Alvarez was in extreme discomfort after getting drilled in the left elbow by a 99-mph fastball, but remained in the game.
Alonso, who had reached third on DJ Stewart’s fly to right, scored on Jose Iglesias’ RBI fielder’s choice.
But the Pirates throttled Severino in the bottom of the inning with homers from Tellez and Jack Suwinksi that tied it 2-2.
Tellez crushed a changeup 425 feet to give the Pirates their first run. One out later, Suwinski hit a 96-mph fastball into the right-field seats.
In the fifth, Severino allowed his third homer of the night.
Reynolds followed a walk to Joshua Palicios with a shot over the fence in right-center to place the Mets in a 4-2 hole.
It was the first time this season Severino surrendered three homers in a game.
Yasmani Grandal and Michael A. Taylor homered in between grand slams from Reynolds and Tellez as part of the Pirates’ late-inning destruction.
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