Quintana helps Mets avoid sweep
The Mets staved off a series sweep Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds, with the battery of Jose Quintana and Francisco Alvarez leading the charge.
Quintana held Cincinnati to two runs over 6.2 innings and Alvarez delivered an early two-run double that put the Mets up for good in their 8-4 win at Citi Field.
It was the fourth start in a row that the left-handed Quintana allowed two runs or fewer. He boasts a 1.90 ERA over 23.2 innings in that stretch.
The Mets took the lead Sunday with a three-run second inning, during which the rookie catcher Alvarez struck a two-run double against Reds first-year starter Brandon Williamson.
They scored another run on a fifth-inning RBI single by fellow rookie Mark Vientos, then blew the game open in the seventh with
Daniel Vogelbach’s three-run double. Another rookie, Ronny Mauricio, added an RBI single in the seventh.
Quintana, who signed a two-year contract with the Mets last offseason, missed nearly four months to begin the year after being diagnosed with a rib cage stress fracture during spring training. With Sunday’s win, the 2016 All-star improved to 3-5 with a 3.02 ERA this season and has now allowed two runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts.
The 34-year-old Quintana is poised to be a key piece in the Mets’ 2024 rotation, which has no certainties beyond Kodai Senga following the midseason trades of co-aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.
Harrison Bader, a New York native whom the Reds claimed off waivers from the Yankees last month, went 0-for-3 Sunday and finished 0-for-7 in the three games against Mets. He is batting .161 in 14 games with Cincinnati.
The Reds won Friday’s series opener, 5-3, on a late two-run home run by Jonathan India. They won again Saturday, 3-2, behind 5.1 scoreless innings from their bullpen.
Sunday gave the Mets (69-80) another win this month against a playoff contender. Cincinnati (78-73) entered the day tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks and a half-game ahead of the Miami Marlins for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
Last week, the Mets won three of four against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field. They also began September by taking two of three at home from the Seattle Mariners, who entered Sunday 1.5 games behind in the AL West and a half-game out of the last AL Wild Card spot.
The Mets get another chance to play spoiler Monday night when they begin a three-game series in Miami, kicking off their final road trip of the season. Jose Butto, who picked up his first MLB win in his previous start last Tuesday, is scheduled to pitch for the Mets against the Marlins’ Edward Cabrera (6-7, 4.52 ERA).