Oh, those home run balls. The bullpen has been excellent since the trade deadline, but the White Sox got to it Friday when Jake Rogers hit a two-out, two-run walk-off home run off of Jefry Yan for a 6-4 victory at Rate Field.
The Mets (58-71) led 4-0 through five innings and Sean Manaea was rolling, but Chicago (67-61) got to him in the sixth. He coughed up back-to-back-to-back homers to Miguel Vargas (two-run shot), Randal Grichuk and Colson Montgomery that knotted the game at 4.
Nate Lavender and Daniel Duarte combined to throw two scoreless innings and keep the game tied before Yan entered to start the ninth. He walked the leadoff man and after a sacrifice bunt and a Luisangel Acuña groundout, Rogers delivered the knockout.
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Manaea allowed four earned runs on five hits over six innings, walked two and struck out four. He has pitched at least six innings in six consecutive starts and his season ERA is 4.31.
Marcus Semien‘s two-out RBI single opened the scoring in the second. In the fourth, Luis Robert Jr. caught a break when center fielder Brenton Doyle lost sight of a routine fly ball and it fell in for a double. That brought up Brett Baty with runners on second and third and he came through with a two-run double. Bo Bichette‘s solo homer (13) made it 4-0 in the fifth.
Stats of the Game
The Mets’ bullpen entered Friday with a 2.68 ERA since the trade deadline, second-best in baseball. The last Met to give up three straight homers was Max Scherzer on April 4, 2023, in Milwaukee. The White Sox entered Friday leading the American League in runs (605). The top seven in runs scored are all in the National League. The Mets rank No. 23.
Player of the Game
Middle relievers tend to go unnoticed so let’s give it to Lavender. Four outs, two by strikeout, in a tie game. The 26-year-old rookie hasn’t allowed a run in eight appearances.
On Deck
Christian Scott (4-3, 3.51 ERA) has struck out 105 in 84 2/3 innings over 18 starts. He faces RHP Luis Castillo, (4-9, 4.99 ERA), who will make his fourth start for Chicago since being acquired from the Mariners at the trade deadline. The game is at 7:10 p.m. ET on SNY.
