CLEVELAND — Jose Quintana had thrown just 52 pitches as the sixth inning began Wednesday, eliciting hope from his manager that the left-hander would lessen the bullpen’s load and work through the seventh.
But those kinds of outings have been few and far between throughout MLB and more so for Mets starting pitchers, who have had difficulty finishing six innings.
Their starters have averaged less than 5 ¹/₃ innings per start.
On this day Quintana allowed three hits in the sixth and by the time he recorded the final out his shutout had disappeared and the Guardians had three runs.
Andres Gimenez’s three-run blast was the big hit of the inning and game in the Mets’ 6-3 loss at Progressive Field.
The 70 pitches thrown by Quintana were the fewest in a start of at least six innings in his career.
“The whole time when [Quintana] is going through those middle innings I’m thinking he’s going to go deep, especially with the way he’s throwing the ball,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Quintana had faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings with the help of two double plays turned behind him.
But after Austin Hedges’ bunt single in the sixth, Tyler Freeman’s double and Gimenez’s three-run homer Mendoza decided to reach into his bullpen for the seventh.
The outing of at least six innings was only Quintana’s second in 10 starts this season.
Reed Garrett surrendered one run in the seventh before the Guardians added two in the eighth against Adam Ottavino.
“We were really in a good position to win this game,” Quintana said. “It’s just really frustrating to be swept in this series.”
Quintana allowed two earned runs over 5 ¹/₃ innings last Thursday in Philadelphia, helping the Mets end a three-game skid.
His strongest performance of the season came three starts earlier when he allowed one earned run over eight innings to beat the Cardinals. But successive duds against the Rays and Braves followed.
“I feel so close and I have been throwing the ball way better [lately],” Quintana said. “I want more. I want to finish in the best way and get results and win the games. That is the reason we are here. It’s so tough and it’s a hard time right now.”