The New York Mets did not enjoyed their three-game home series against the Oakland Athletics. In the series opener on Tuesday Oakland reliever Austin Adams mocked the Mets’ beloved “OMG” celebration, drawing the ire of closer Edwin Diaz. The final game was a “frustrating” loss, according to Mets’ starter Jose Quintana, via Dan Martin of the New York Post.
Ultimately, New York gave up 17 runs to Oakland over three games and lost the series two games to three. The team's best moment probably occurred in the booth when analyst Ron Darling called out A's rookie Joey Estes for berating a teammate who failed to make a tough play at third base in Wednesday's game.
It’s hard to blame the offense for either loss as the Mets scored 19 runs in the three games against the A’s. New York starter Jose Quintana was handed a 5-0 lead against Oakland Thursday but he allowed 12 base runners in four innings and the A’s got right back in the game with a grand slam in the fourth. Even though he didn’t earn a loss in the game, Quintana accepted responsibility for the team’s defeat, telling reporters it’s “on me,” per the New York Post.
Quintana was playing with fire right from the start as the A’s loaded the bases in the first inning and again in the third. Both times the Mets’ starter was able to retire Oakland second baseman Zack Gelof and strand the runners. But in the fourth inning, Quintana’s luck ran out.
The Mets took a 5-0 lead into the fourth inning but Oakland once again loaded the bases on a single and two walks before center fielder JJ Bleday hit a grand slam to right, making it 5-4.
Mets starter Jose Quintana had a “frustrating” day on the mound
Quintana got out of the inning when Shea Langeliers was thrown out while attempting to score but the 13-year veteran only lasted four innings. The Mets would add another run in the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-4 but the grand slam seemed to wake up Oakland’s bats as the A’s scored three more runs and won the game 7-6. “The Bleday grand slam … jumpstarted the offense, got us right back in the game,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said, per ESPN’s recap.
Quintana allowed seven hits and four earned runs in four innings with one strikeout and four walks. The 35-year-old lefty tossed 92 pitches, a sizable chunk of the 425 pitches the two teams combined to throw, which set the season-high for a regulation game, according to ESPN.
It was a game full of season highs. The A’s left a season-high 16 runners on base and the Mets allowed a season-high 11 walks, per ESPN. At 3 hours and 45 minutes, it was the longest regulation game of the season as well as the longest nine-inning game since MLB started using the pitch clock.
After a slow start New York clawed their way back into the playoff picture. The Mets upgraded at the trade deadline but the team is now 13-13 since returning from the All-Star break. New York is nine games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East and two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card race.
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