PITTSBURGH _ The Mets' nearly perfect road trip came to an imperfect end Sunday: Robinson Cano suffering a strained left hamstring during their 13-2 win against the Pirates.
That was about the only downside to another well-rounded victory for the Mets, who won a fourth series in a row and have won nine of their past 10 games. After going 5-1 against the White Sox and Pirates this week, the Mets are 55-56, the closest they have been to .500 since June 11, when they were 33-34.
Noah Syndergaard cruised through seven innings of one-run ball, and six Mets batters had multiple hits. Michael Conforto and J.D. Davis, both 2-for-4, homered in the first inning. Jeff McNeil added a long ball in the seventh.
Cano (3-for-3) got hurt in the fourth inning, when he pulled up lame after rounding first on what looked to be his third double. He immediately grabbed the back of his left leg, walked gingerly to the Mets' dugout and was replaced at second base by McNeil for the bottom of the fourth.
Already this year, Cano, 36, has gone on the injured list twice, once in May and once in June due to a strained left quadriceps. Cano has four years and $96 million left on his contract.
Among the Mets' internal infield options: Luis Guillorme (pulled from Triple-A Syracuse's game right after Cano got hurt), Dilson Herrera (didn't play Sunday) and Ruben Tejada.
The injury is particularly poorly timed considering Cano's bat had seemed to be coming around. Since the end of his career-high 0-for-23 run, Cano was 10-for-his-last-17, including four consecutive multi-hit games and five extra-base hits.
Syndergaard limited Pittsburgh to three hits and a walk as he lasted at least seven innings for a fifth consecutive start (posting a 1.78 ERA in that stretch). His ERA is 3.96, below 4.00 for the first time since his first inning of the season.
The Mets hammered Pirates righthander Joe Musgrove for eight runs and 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. Todd Frazier (3-for-5, three RBIs) knocked him out with a two-run single.
