Manaea and Lindor lead Mets to 2-0 win as White Sox set franchise record with 107th loss
CHICAGO (AP) — Sean Manaea pitched two-hit ball over seven innings, Francisco Lindor belted his 29th home run and the New York Mets beat Chicago 2-0 on Sunday to hand the White Sox their franchise-record 107th loss.
Chicago (31-107) broke the club mark for losses set by the 1970 team. The White Sox also completed the first 0-10 homestand in franchise history, becoming the first team since the 1965 Mets to have three 10-game losing streaks in one season.
Lindor gave New York a 1-0 lead when he connected leading off the fourth against Garrett Crochet. Starling Marte drove an RBI double off the center-field wall against Justin Anderson in the ninth, and the Mets squeezed out their fourth straight win and ninth in 13 games to finish a 7-3 trip. They came in trailing Atlanta by two games for the final NL wild card.
Manaea (11-5) struck out five, walked two and hit a batter with a pitch. The left-hander is 3-0 in his last four outings, and New York has won 12 of his past 15 starts.
Manaea retired his first 11 batters before walking Lenyn Sosa, but then picked off Sosa at first base to end the fourth. The White Sox didn’t get a hit until Miguel Vargas lined a single to left with two outs in the fifth.
Chicago threatened to score in the seventh, only to come away empty.
Luis Robert Jr. got hit by a pitch leading off but was thrown out trying to steal second. Andrew Vaughn walked with two outs and Gavin Sheets singled in front of sliding left fielder Jesse Winker, putting runners on the corners. But then Manaea retired Vargas on a fly to left to escape that jam.
Reed Garrett retired all three batters in the eighth. Edwin Díaz struck out the side in the ninth for his 16th save in 22 chances as the Mets completed their sixth shutout of the season — all since July 11.
Chicago is 4-36 since the All-Star break and 3-18 under interim manager Grady Sizemore. The worst White Sox homestand prior to this one was when they went 0-7 from May 23-29. They’ve lost 12 straight at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Crochet (6-10), one of Chicago’s few bright spots, tied a club record by striking out the first seven batters and whiffed eight in all over 3 1/3 innings. The All-Star left-hander gave up one run and three hits without a walk.
Neither team had a runner on base until Lindor drove the first pitch of the fourth inning to the left-field seats. Mets fans chanted “MVP! MVP!” as he circled the bases.
Jose Iglesias and Mark Vientos followed with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners. Crochet then struck out Pete Alonso before Gus Varland retired the next two batters.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: Sizemore said there's a chance 3B Yoán Moncada (adductor strain) will rejoin the team during the six-game trip to Baltimore and Boston that starts on Monday. Moncada, who hasn't played in the majors since April 9, is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Luis Severino (9-6, 3.96 ERA) gets the ball Monday as the Mets open a three-game series against Boston at home. The Red Sox had not announced a starter.
White Sox: Begin a three-game series at Baltimore, with RHP Chris Flexen (2-13, 5.29 ERA) pitching for Chicago against RHP Corbin Burnes (12-7, 3.23). Flexen is 0-10 in 20 starts since beating Tampa Bay on May 8.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb