PITTSBURGH — The Mets’ already sinking ship got attacked by Pirates on Friday and was left for scrapheap on the Allegheny River.
A brutal stretch of baseball continued for manager Buck Showalter’s beleaguered bunch with the kind of embarrassing performance that might leave scars.
The only thing missing was the laugh track.
Sloppy on defense, with awful pitching for a second straight night, the Mets lost 14-7 to the Pirates at PNC Park.
The loss was the Mets’ seventh straight and pushed them four games below .500.
The ugliness came a night after the Mets had a late meltdown in Atlanta and surrendered six runs in the final three innings of a 13-10 loss that completed a Braves sweep.
After that defeat, the Mets could at least feel good about a lineup that broke out.
There were no such redeeming qualities about this latest defeat, as 43-year-old lefty Rich Hill limited the Mets to two earned runs over seven innings.
The Mets tacked on five runs in garbage time in the ninth.
Megill got hurt by his defense, but had a rough night on the mound.
The right-hander was knocked out after 3 2/3 innings in which he allowed eight runs, six earned, on eight hits and three walks, raising his ERA to 5.00.
A night earlier, Justin Verlander was yanked after three poor innings and the Mets emptied their bullpen, producing a residual effect that limited their options.
Tommy Hunter, who allowed the game-winning homer to Ozzie Albies on Thursday, was back for mop up duty on Friday and allowed consecutive blasts to Carlos Santana and Jack Suwinski in the eighth inning that completed the laugher.
Mark Vientos’ RBI single in the second and Francisco Lindor’s homer got the Mets to 2-2 in the third, but the night unraveled on Megill in the bottom of the inning.
Santana hit a grounder near second base that should have been an inning-ending double play, but Lindor booted it and both runners were safe.
The Pirates kept applying pressure on the Mets’ defense and were rewarded.
Hwan Bae bunted and Eduardo Escobar’s throw sailed over first base, bringing in two runs. Josh Palacios followed with an RBI single that buried the Mets in a 7-2 hole.
The Mets’ defensive woes began in the second as Starling Marte backed off Austin Hedges’ fly to right near the sidewall and watched the ball plunk in fair territory for a two-run double.
The rampage continued in the fourth. Megill recorded two quick outs before Andrew McCutchen walked and Santana’s single put runners on the corners.
Suwinski smashed an RBI double to give the Pirates an 8-2 lead and end Megill’s night.
Lefty Zach Muckenhirn entered and surrendered a double to Hayes that brought in another two runs before retiring Bae for the final out.
