NEW YORK — The Mets got a solid debut on the mound but a no-show performance at the dish.
Jose Quintana donned the Mets’ uniform for the first time on Thursday afternoon but received virtually no help from his offense in their 6-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Quintana returned from a rib lesion and gave Buck Showalter’s squad a decent performance.
The southpaw tossed five innings allowing two runs on six hits while striking out three. The 34-year-old allowed the two runs in the first two innings of the game with Eloy Jiminez’s RBI single and Elvis Andrus’ sac-fly in the second.
However, Quintana’s counterpart was just slightly better as Michael Kopech kept the Amazin’s bats at bay in the afternoon matchup.
Kopech tossed 5.2 innings allowing just one run on two hits while striking out five. The Mets did work four walks against the 27-year-old, however, Omar Narvaez’s fifth-inning solo homer — his first as a Met — was the only damage they could do.
Once Showalter turned to his bullpen in the sixth, the game got out of hand. Drew Smith came on in relief and was charged with four runs, however, only one of them being earned as Pete Alonso’s error in the sixth unlocked the floodgates with the White Sox rallying to score four runs in the frame. Yasmani Grandal’s two-RBI double to put the contest at 4-1 felt like the knockout blow before Pedro Grifol’s squad added two more.
Alonso added a much-needed RBI single in the eighth but the Mets went down easily in the ninth as the game would go final at 6-2 as they failed to complete the three-game sweep.
The Amazins will ship up to Boston to take on the Red Sox on Thursday night to begin a four-game set. Kodai Senga is scheduled to take the ball against southpaw James Paxton.
