PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Interstat) — Zac Thornton pitched five innings, allowing four hits and no earned runs while striking out three, as the Mets beat the Pirates 6-4 on Friday at PNC Park. Thornton improved to 3-2, and the Mets improved to 51-66.

The Mets scored once in the first inning, four times in the third and once in the fourth. Marcus Semien highlighted the third with a three-run homer, his 14th of the season, and Carson Benge went 2 for 2 with two RBIs. New York finished with 10 hits.

Pittsburgh, which fell to 57-61 despite collecting 12 hits, scored two in the seventh and two in the ninth. Jared Triolo had two hits and an RBI, and Nick Gonzales added two hits for the Pirates. In the ninth, Jacob Gonzalez singled in a run but was thrown out at second on the throw.

Carmen Mlodzinski took the loss for Pittsburgh. The attendance was 33,497, and the game lasted 2:53.