J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer, Tylor Megill pitched well into the sixth inning in his return from the minors, and the New York Mets defeated the struggling Chicago White Sox 5-1 on Friday night.
Jesse Winker had an RBI double among his three hits as the Mets stayed three games behind Atlanta for the final NL wild-card spot with their second consecutive win and seventh in 11 games. At 71-64, New York matched its season high at seven games above .500.
Martinez is 8 for his last 20 but didn’t say he’s in a hot streak at the plate. The 14-year veteran is also not focused on the standings.
“For me, it’s just going out there and telling these guys over and over, we’re not supposed to be here,” Martinez said. “At the beginning of the year when I got here, no one was expecting us to be anywhere near the playoffs, and here we are in the thick of it.”
Megill (3-5) gave up one run and five hits and struck out six in 5 1/3 innings after being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse for his fourth stint with New York this season.
The 6-foot-7 right-hander finished strong, retiring 10 batters in a row before Gavin Sheets singled with one out in the sixth inning.
“The first couple of innings were a little bit of hard work, getting behind early,” Megill said. “But then after that, locked it in and just seemed like I was cruising a little bit easier.”
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza agreed with this view. “I thought after the first couple of innings, he settled down, made pitches and gave us a good outing,” Mendoza said.
Andrew Benintendi had an RBI double and two hits for the White Sox (31-105), who lost their eighth straight game.
They are 4-34 since the All-Star break and are just one loss away from tying the franchise record of 106 losses set in 1970. Chicago is also on pace to break the modern major league record for most losses, which is 120 set by the 1962 Mets.
Adam Ottavino, Reed Garrett, Phil Maton, and Edwin Diaz combined for 4 2/3 innings of perfect relief in place of Megill, striking out six batters.
“It was a tough day offensively,” White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “The back end of their bullpen did really well. I saw five hits go right at guys. It’s just the way the ball is going for us. We are hitting it right at them when we do have a good at-bat.”
Megill took the spot of Paul Blackburn, who went on the injured list with a bruised right hand after being hit by David Peralta’s liner in San Diego. Friday’s game was Megill’s first with the Mets since July 31, when he pitched two relief innings against Minnesota.
White Sox starter Jonathan Cannon (2-9) allowed four runs and five hits with four walks over five innings, marking his fourth straight loss.
Benintendi’s double to the right-center wall scored Nicky Lopez to give Chicago a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
The Mets loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning but only managed to tie the game on Harrison Bader’s RBI groundout after a video review overturned a double play call.
With one out, Bader hit a grounder to third baseman Miguel Vargas, whose throw to second forced Jeff McNeil. Bader was called out at first on second baseman Lopez’s throw, but the review reversed the call and allowed Winker to score from third.
The Mets scored three runs with two outs in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead. Winker’s RBI double put New York ahead, and Martinez followed with his 16th homer to left field.
Mark Vientos’ sacrifice fly in the ninth inning completed the scoring.
