Taijuan Walker pitched into the eighth inning for the second time this season and Daniel Vogelbach homered against his former team Friday night as the host New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3.
Tomas Nido, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo also had RBIs for the Mets (91-55), who have won the first two games of the four-game series. New York entered Friday with a one-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
The Pirates (55-90) fell to 6-9 this month.
Walker (12-4) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and no walks while striking out five over 7 1/3 innings, matching the season-high he set against the Houston Astros on June 29.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller (5-11) retired the first seven batters before Eduardo Escobar drew a walk. Nido followed with a hit-and-run single to right and Escobar ran through the stop sign of third base coach Joey Cora and beat the throw home.
Vogelbach, who began the season with the Pirates before being traded to the Mets on July 22, homered with two outs in the fourth to make it 2-0. Nimmo led off the sixth with a single, stole second, went to third on a single by Francisco Lindor and scored on Alonso's sac fly to center.
Escobar doubled leading off the seventh, took third when Cruz misplayed Nido's grounder and scored on Nimmo's single to shallow left.
Walker, meanwhile, retired the first 11 batters he faced before Rodolfo Castro singled past a diving Alonso at first base.
The Pirates mounted their first rally against Walker in the fifth, when Ke'Bryan Hayes reached on an error by third baseman Escobar, went to third on a single by Cal Mitchell and scored on Michael Chavis' single.
Walker then set down 10 straight before giving up a one-out single to Tyler Heineman in the eighth. Oneil Cruz chased Walker with a two-run homer onto the black surface next to the Home Run Apple beyond center field to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Edwin Diaz, pitching for just the fourth time this month and entering with a lead for the first time since Sept. 1, retired Bryan Reynolds on a liner to right and struck out Castro in the eighth before working around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his 30th save.
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