PITTSBURGH — Dillon Gee helped eliminate the potential of a miserable All-Star break for the Mets by slicing through the heat Sunday and getting his team a needed victory.
In a performance that mirrored some of his best for the Mets over the last six weeks, the right-hander went 6 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run in a 4-2 victory over the Pirates before 37,490 at PNC Park.
The Mets (41-50) snapped a two-game skid and finished 6-3 on a road trip that also included stops in Milwaukee and San Francisco.
Scott Atchison, LaTroy Hawkins and Bobby Parnell took it to the finish, after Gee (7-7) allowed an unearned run on five hits and one walk.
Atchision, who arrived before the game after spending the past two months on the disabled list, entered with two outs in the seventh and retired Garrett Jones with two runners on. Hawkins allowed a run on two hits in the eighth and Parnell put the tying runs on base in the ninth before earning his 17th save in 20 chances.
Daniel Murphy provided Gee and the bullpen with a cushion by smashing an RBI triple in the seventh that extended the Mets’ lead to 4-1. Eric Young Jr.’s second hit of the game, a single with one out, started the rally.
Starling Marte’s RBI double in the third accounted for the Pirates’ only run against Gee. Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole bunted for a hit and reached second when Gee in desperation made a wild throw to first.
John Buck’s two-run single was the Mets’ big hit in the first inning, when they sent eight batters to the plate and jumped to a 3-0 lead against the rookie Cole. Marlon Byrd delivered an RBI double before Buck continued a solid road trip with a single to left. Young and David Wright also singled in the inning.
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