The Mets established an early lead but couldn’t hang on, losing two of three to the Athletics.
The New York Mets did not like their three-game home series with the Oakland Athletics. In the series opener on Tuesday, Oakland reliever Austin Adams ridiculed the Mets’ renowned “OMG” celebration, infuriating closer Edwin Diaz. Mets starter Jose Quintana described the final game as a “frustrating” loss, as reported by Dan Martin of the New York Post.
Finally, New York allowed 17 runs to Oakland in three games and lost the series two games to three. The team’s best moment undoubtedly came in the booth, when announcer Ron Darling chastised A’s rookie Joey Estes for berating a teammate who failed to make a difficult play at third base in Wednesday’s game.
The Mets’ offense scored 19 runs in three games against the A’s, making it difficult to blame them for either loss. On Thursday, New York starter Jose Quintana took a 5-0 lead against Oakland, but he allowed 12 base runners in four frames, and the A’s rallied with a grand slam in the fourth.
Despite not earning a loss in the game, Quintana accepted blame for the team’s failure, telling reporters that it was “on me,” according to the New York Post.
The A’s loaded the bases in the first and third innings, putting Quintana under pressure. Both times, the Mets starter retired Oakland second baseman Zack Gelof and stranded the runners. But in the fourth inning, Quintana’s luck ran out.
The Mets led 5-0 entering the fourth inning, but Oakland loaded the bases with a single and two walks before center fielder JJ Bleday blasted a grand slam to right, bringing the score 5-4.
Mets starter Jose Quintana had a ‘frustrating’ day on the mound
Quintana got out of the inning when the Mets threw out Shea Langeliers, who was attempting to score from first on a double, but the 13-year veteran only went four innings. The Mets added another run in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 6-4, but the grand slam appeared to wake up Oakland’s bats, as the A’s scored three more runs to win 7-6.
According to ESPN’s recap, A’s manager Mark Kotsay stated that the Bleday grand slam “jumpstarted the offense and got us right back in the game.”
Quintana allowed seven hits and four earned runs over four innings, striking out one and walking four. According to ESPN, the 35-year-old southpaw threw 92 pitches, accounting for a substantial portion of the 425 pitches thrown by the two teams combined, setting a season high for regulation games.
It was a game packed with season highs. According to ESPN, the Athletics left a season-high 16 runners on base, while the Mets gave up a season-high 11 walks. At 3 hours and 45 minutes, it was the longest regulation game of the season, as well as the longest nine-inning game since the MLB began using the pitch clock.
After a poor start, New York battled its way back into playoff contention. The Mets improved before the trade deadline, but they are now 13-13 since returning from the All-Star break. In the NL East, New York trails the first-place Philadelphia Phillies by nine games, while in the Wild Card race, it trails the Atlanta Braves by two.
