Jose Quintana’s Mets debut was acceptable, but the rest of Thursday afternoon provided more angst than excitement for the home team.
There was the frustration of an important offensive piece, Tommy Pham, leaving the game with an apparent injury.
But the Mets also didn’t hit enough or get a middle-inning relief pickup as needed — with a Pete Alonso error heavily contributing.
All of it combined left the Mets unfulfilled in their quest for a series sweep, with a 6-2 loss to the White Sox at Citi Field.
The Mets had a three-game winning streak snapped to finish 3-3 on the homestand — at a time treading water isn’t sufficient.
The Mets (45-51) have nine games scheduled before the Aug. 1 trade deadline and certainly haven’t shown enough that suggests they should be anything but sellers.
Pham, who began the day with a .976 OPS since May 28 — the fifth highest in the National League over that stretch — left the game after barely running to first base on a double play grounder in the third.
The Mets didn’t immediately announce a diagnosis on Pham, who left the final game before the All-Star break with groin tightness.
Quintana, in his debut following rib surgery that had kept him sidelined since spring training, allowed two earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts, departing after 77 pitches.
The left-hander retired eight of the final nine batters he faced and departed with the Mets behind 2-1.
The White Sox took control against Drew Smith in the sixth by scoring four runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits and a walk.
The right-hander recorded only two outs before departing to a smattering of boos.
Alonso misplayed Luis Robert Jr.’s grounder for an error to begin the inning before Eloy Jimenez singled and Jake Burger’s walk loaded the bases.
Yasmani Grandal followed with a shot to right on which Jeff McNeil started in, but the ball landed on the warning track for a two-run double that gave the White Sox a 4-1 lead.
Oscar Colas’ sacrifice fly brought in another run and Elvis Andrus’ RBI triple put the Mets in a 6-1 hole.
Quintana pitched to soft contact in the first inning, allowing one run on three straight singles.
Jimenez delivered an RBI single that gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead.
Quintana stranded runners on second and third by striking out Grandal to conclude the inning.
Zach Remillard doubled leading off the second and Andrus’ sacrifice fly put the Mets in a 2-0 hole. But the White Sox were finished threatening against Quintana.
In the third, Jimenez hit into a double play to help kill an inning. Remillard singled in the fourth and was left stranded before Quintana retired the side in order in the fifth.
Omar Narvaez singled in the third against Michael Kopech and Brandon Nimmo walked before Pham hit a grounder that left the bat at 109.4 mph.
The ball was snagged on a hop by shortstop Tim Anderson, who started an inning-ending double play.
Pham was slow in leaving the batter’s box and was replaced in left field for the start of the fourth inning.
Narvaez’s solo homer with two outs in the fifth pulled the Mets within 2-1.
The blast was Narvaez’s first in a Mets uniform — he started behind the plate to give Francisco Alvarez a rest following the night game. Alvarez played as the DH.
Alonso delivered an RBI single in the eighth after Nimmo’s leadoff double.
