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Major League Baseball
Pittsburgh 11, NY Mets 1
When: 1:10 PM ET, Sunday, June 4, 2017
Where: Citi Field, New York City, New York
Temperature: 68°
Umpires: Home - Jim Reynolds, 1B - Greg Gibson, 2B - Lance Barrett, 3B - Stu Scheurwater
Attendance: 35323

NEW YORK -- Manager Clint Hurdle is in no rush to make a decision on if or where Trevor Williams fits into the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation once Jameson Taillon returns to the majors. But Williams may be pitching well enough to ensure he's not the one impacted by Hurdle's decision.

Williams set a career-high in innings pitched for a second straight start Sunday, when he earned the win after allowing one run over seven solid frames as the Pirates cruised past the New York Mets 11-1 at Citi Field.

With the victory, Williams improved to 2-2 with a 4.26 ERA in six starts in place of Taillon, who underwent testicular cancer surgery on May 8. Williams had a 5.40 ERA in six relief appearances prior to moving into the rotation.

Decision time on the makeup of the rotation could be coming soon for the Pirates thanks to the remarkable recovery of Taillon, who is scheduled to make his third and likely final rehab start on Wednesday.

"I think it'd be silly for me to talk about the decision-making process in a room full of guys right here when I've got players outside -- just doesn't work that way," Hurdle said. "He's done what he's been asked to do. Everything gets evaluated every time a guy touches the ball and goes out there. So we'll see how it plays out."

Williams (3-3 overall) has been particularly effective in his last two starts, during which he's given up just two runs over 13 innings while pitching six and seven full innings for the first time as a major leaguer.

Meanwhile, two other members of the Pirates rotation -- Tyler Glasnow and Chad Kuhl -- have combined to record a 6.50 ERA in 22 starts this season.

"I always like to pitch with a sense of urgency," Williams said. "Your window is only open for so long in the big leagues. I'm fortunate enough to be fairly young (25) and have my window open. That could slam shut any day.

"It's their decision, like it was in spring training. It's their decision. I trust them to give the club the best shot to win."

Williams scattered seven hits and issued two walks on Sunday, when he had just one 1-2-3 inning but induced three double plays and retired 12 of the final 15 batters he faced. He threw a career-high 95 pitches.

"It was another push forward," Hurdle said. "Pitch count got elevated to a point it hadn't been. He went seven full innings, a place he'd never been. So, it was a really, really solid effort from him."

David Freese and Andrew McCutchen had three hits and three RBIs apiece. Freese collected his RBIs in piecemeal fashion with run-scoring singles in the first and seventh and a sacrifice fly in the third while McCutchen hit a three-run homer in the ninth.

Adam Frazier had an RBI single in the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Josh Bell (run-scoring groundout in the first), John Jaso (double in the third) and Phil Gosselin (pinch-hit run-scoring fielder's choice in the eighth) accounted for the other runs by the Pirates (26-31), who took two of three in the weekend series.

The loss continued a frustrating stretch for the Mets (24-31), who have floundered between four and seven games under .500 every day since May 15. New York endured a symbol of its recent misfortune in the seventh inning, when Jaso's apparent inning-ending double play was overturned after the performing of "God Bless America."

Umpires ruled second baseman Neil Walker never touched the bag on the first out, even though Josh Harrison had already peeled out of the baseline. Freese followed with his RBI single.

"Simple logic would tell you that's a double play a hundred times out of a hundred," Walker said. "But in today's game, it's not that way."

The Mets built their run in the second, when Wilmer Flores doubled, went to third on Curtis Granderson's single and scored when Travis d'Arnaud hit into a double play. Flores, Michael Conforto and Jay Bruce had two hits each.

Tyler Pill (0-2) took the loss after allowing five runs (three earned), eight hits and no walks while striking out four in five innings. A pair of throwing errors by Conforto led to the unearned runs.

"If they don't make the errors, it's 3-1 -- a little different scenario than 5-1," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "We haven't played great defensively behind (the pitchers). That hasn't helped, either."

NOTES: Mets manager Terry Collins said RHP Seth Lugo (elbow) and LHP Steven Matz (elbow) are expected to come off the disabled list and join the rotation on Saturday and Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. Lugo and Matz have been on the disabled list all season. ... Mets 2B Neil Walker went 0-for-3 as his nine-game hitting streak against the Pirates -- his former team -- ended. ... Pirates 2B Josh Harrison was hit on the foot by a pitch in the seventh inning and lifted for pinch-runner Max Moroff following the post-"God Bless America" reversal. ... Pirates C Francisco Cervelli returned to the lineup after missing two games because of illness and went 3-for-4.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Pittsburgh   NY Mets
Trevor Williams Player Tyler Pill
Win W/L Loss
7.0 IP 5.0
3 Strikeouts 4
7 Hits 8
1.29 ERA 5.40
Hitting
Pittsburgh   NY Mets
Francisco Cervelli Player Michael Conforto
3 Hits 2
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
4 TB 3
.750 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Pittsburgh 15 1 21 .395 14 6 11 2 0 0
NY Mets 7 0 9 .233 15 3 0 3 0 2