ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Mets went all of July without losing a series, but August’s early dog days have been a struggle.
Particularly, a lineup that propelled the team back into the wild-card hunt before the All-Star break was spotty the whole weekend against the Angels, but most pronounced on Sunday.
The Mets managed only five hits in a 3-2 loss at Angel Stadium that gave these underwhelming Angels a series victory.
It’s hardly the start the Mets (58-53) needed in this first stop in a four-city road trip that still has seven games remaining.
The Mets finished 2-for-10 (.200) with runners in scoring position. For the weekend, they were 6-for-35 (.171) in that category.
Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil are among the hitters that have remained hot, but the Mets are still waiting most notably for Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez to regain momentum.
J.D. Martinez and Pete Alonso each had big moments in the series, but both went silent on this day against Griffin Canning and the Angels bullpen.
The Mets hadn’t lost a series since June 28-30, when the Astros won two of three games at Citi Field.
The Mets had to be happy just to receive five innings from Jose Quintana on an afternoon he wasn’t particularly sharp.
The left-hander allowed three earned runs on three hits and four walks with a hit batter over those five innings, departing after 96 pitches.
Harrison Bader’s RBI single in the second gave the Mets a 1-0 lead.
The Mets staged a two-out rally, beginning with first baseman Nolan Schanuel’s error, which allowed Alvarez to reach. McNeil followed with a walk before Bader delivered for his 37th RBI this season.
Quintana fell into a 2-1 hole in the bottom of the inning. Taylor Ward singled leading off the frame and reached third on Jo Adell’s double before a wild pitch from Quintana brought in the first run.
Charles Leblanc walked to put runners on the corners and Matt Thaiss’ sacrifice fly brought in the second run.
Zach Neto — whose three-run homer in the seventh a night earlier against Huascar Brazoban sank the Mets — stroked a leadoff triple in the third and scored on Kevin Pillar’s sacrifice fly that extended the Angels lead to 3-1.
Quintana also walked Logan O’Hoppe and plunked Taylor Ward in the inning, but escaped without further damage.
Lindor’s RBI single in the fifth pulled the Mets within 3-2.
McNeil’s leadoff double sparked the inning before Lindor, with one out, delivered. Nimmo extended the rally with a walk before Canning retired Martinez and Alonso.
Lindor hit a shot toward the right field foul pole in the seventh that was originally ruled a home run by first base umpire Shane Livensparger, but a conversation among the crew changed the call to a foul ball. The Mets challenged the call and lost.
The Mets had a chance in the eighth: Alonso was hit by a pitch and Jesse Winker singled, but Mark Vientos grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Adam Ottavino, Danny Young and Phil Maton combined to give the Mets three innings of scoreless relief. Edwin Diaz did not appear in the series and hasn’t pitched since Tuesday, when he got the final four outs for the save against the Twins.
