By Stephen J. Nesbitt / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It’s hard to fault a manager for pitching around Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates’ perennial All-Star and MVP candidate.
With two outs and a base open in the sixth, New York Mets manager Terry Collins intentionally walked McCutchen, who had already socked his third homer in four games, to pitch to cleanup hitter Starling Marte.
Marte smoked Erik Goeddel’s first pitch, an 83 miles-per-hour changeup, into the seats in left to put the game, and series well out of reach. The Pirates swept the Mets with a 9-1 victory Sunday afternoon before another sellout crowd at PNC Park.