Mets-Pirates: In the "Nick" of Time—Nick Evans Delivers Walk-Off Win in 10th

On a night where the word "offense" basically did not exist in New York, the Mets were able to scrounge out a walk-off victory thanks to Nick Evans' RBI single in the 10th inning.

The Yankees were shut out in extra innings by the Rays (who now lead the AL East), and the Jets looked absolutely pathetic on offense in their loss to the Ravens.

Interestingly, tonight marked the first time in history that both the Mets and Yankees were held scoreless through nine innings on the same night. Thank you Elias Sports Bureau.

Dillon Gee started for the Mets and had himself another impressive outing. He went six innings and allowed five hits. However, he did have four walks but was able to pitch out of trouble all night. Although his two starts have been against the offensively challenged Nationals and Pirates, Gee has shown he can manage a game well, pitching to a 0.69 ERA.

Though Gee and the Mets' bullpen looked great tonight, keep in mind that the Pirates are last in almost all offensive categories in the National League. But a win is a win.

Ruben Tejada ripped a double off former Met Chan Ho Park with one out in the bottom of the 10th. Tejada is now 10 for his last 31 at the plate, which is a .322 clip. Though he has had his struggles offensively, if he can finish off this season strong with the bat, he will certainly be considered for the starting second base job in 2011.

Nick Evans pinch-hit and delivered the game-winning single through the left side on the second pitch of the at-bat. The Mets improved to 71-73 with the victory.

Although it took them forever to finally score, I was glad to see the young talent come through in the clutch. As I said in a previous article, my goal for the rest of this season is for the younger players to gain some vital experience in order to prepare for next year.

Due to his defense, Tejada may be given the nod at second next year. However, he needs to show he can hit consistently. Naturally, the Mets are not expecting him to carry the team offensively. But if he can come up big like he did tonight, we may see a lot of him next year.

As for Evans, it was nice to see him deliver in the clutch. It has been a rough few years for Evans, who seems to tear up minor league pitching but struggle at the big league level. His value to this organization moving forward will be more as a right-handed pinch hitter than anything else. Well, he definitely proved his value tonight.

R.A. Dickey takes the hill tomorrow trying to extend the Mets' winning streak to two. The Mets haven't won at least three games in a row since mid June.

But it could be worse, Mets fans; you could be a Pirates fan. They already have 95 losses and have suffered their 19th consecutive losing season.