


The Mets followed their disastrous loss to the Pirates on Friday night with a handful of roster moves to try and help their relief pitching.
Tommy Hunter was designated for assignment while Zach Muckenhirn was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. John Curtiss and Josh Walker were called up in response, the team announced Saturday.
Hunter and Muckenhirn struggled in appearances on Friday, with the former allowing two runs in two innings and the latter giving up three runs on six hits in 2 1/3 frames.
The 36-year-old Hunter, who has been in the Mets’ organization since 2021, has had little success this year with a 6.85 ERA in 23 2/3 innings.
Muckenhirn, 28, has a 6.00 ERA across three different stints and six innings with the big league club this year.
Curtiss, a veteran right-hander of five different MLB teams, has pitched 13 innings with the Mets in 2023 and was on the team’s Opening Day roster.
Walker made his Major League debut in a one-inning cameo against the Rays on May 16, but the 28-year-old has otherwise spent his career in the minors, with a 1.45 ERA at Syracuse this season.
Relief pitching has been among the team’s chief issues this season, with a collective 4.44 bullpen ERA — ninth-worst in the majors — as the team’s misery has compounded in recent days.
The 14-7 loss to the Pirates on Friday dropped the team to 30-34 and was their seventh straight defeat following a meltdown three-game sweep in Atlanta.
General manager Billy Eppler and owner Steve Cohen have both told The Post’s Joel Sherman that major changes are not in store, but there is still no shortage of pressure for the Mets to find a winning formula as the season looks to be slipping away.
Heading into Saturday’s matinee with the Pirates, the Mets sat 9 1/2 games back in the National League East.