The New York Mets (34-22) couldn’t complete the sweep on Wednesday afternoon, falling 9-4 to the Chicago White Sox (18-38) in the finale at Citi Field.
Starter Griffin Canning struggled from the start, issuing four walks and allowing five runs (three earned) in just three innings of work. Defensive miscues didn’t help, errors by Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil in the second opened the door for a four-run Chicago lead.
New York got back into the game in the third thanks to Mark Vientos, who crushed a two-out, three-run home run, his sixth of the season, after Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto worked back-to-back walks. The blast brought the Mets within two at 5-3.
Brandon Waddell provided much-needed length out of the bullpen, eating five innings, but the White Sox chipped away during his extended outing. Andrew Benintendi, who finished with four RBI, added more damage with an RBI single in the sixth and a solo homer in the eighth. Lenyn Sosa also drove in a pair as Chicago pulled away.
Offensively, the Mets couldn’t get much going outside of Vientos’ homer. Nimmo was a bright spot, reaching base four times and scoring in the ninth on a Pete Alonso RBI double.
Former Mets prospect Mike Vasil, now with Chicago, tossed three scoreless innings and struck out five against his former team.
The Mets will look to bounce back after Thursday’s off day, as they open a three-game set against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night at Citi Field.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].