SAN FRANCISCO — The hot bats that were cooled a day earlier in Los Angeles didn’t get much warmer at blustery Oracle Park on Monday.
Pete Alonso’s fifth-inning home run brought hope for the Mets and there was a brief ninth-inning rally, but that was about all the team could celebrate in a 5-2 loss to the Giants.
Keaton Winn was the villain on this night, pitching six innings and allowing one run, a day after Tyler Glasnow fired eight shutout innings against the Mets at Dodger Stadium.
The Mets managed only four hits against Winn and the Giants bullpen.
“We had some real good at-bats and I know a couple of times we didn’t get rewarded for some hard-hit balls,” Alonso said.
The Mets scored once in the ninth on a wild pitch by Giants closer Camilo Doval and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Stewart was retired to end the game.
“That’s what it’s about: fighting hard until the end and we got [Doval] to work really hard and we’re going to take that momentum into tomorrow,” Alonso said.
The loss was the Mets’ second straight, marking their first losing streak since their 0-5 start. They are 2-2 on this West Coast trip.
Jose Quintana turned in a second straight underwhelming performance by a Mets starting pitcher by allowing five earned runs over five plus innings.
A day earlier Adrian Houser surrendered eight earned runs over four innings in a loss to the Dodgers.
On this night Quintana walked three batters, continuing a trend of Mets starting pitchers issuing free passes.
“This is something that Hef has been talking to a lot of them,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the game, referring to pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. “We have got to continue to stay on the attack and finish at-bats. There’s been a lot of situations where we get 0-2 and before you know it it’s 3-2. We have got to do a better job of finishing at-bats and inducing contact early in counts.”
Nick Ahmed’s two-run single in the second gave the Giants a 2-0 lead. The inning started with Jeff McNeil literally booting Jorge Soler’s grounder — the Mets second baseman kicked the ball (it was ruled a hit) — before Michael Conforto singled and Thairo Estrada walked to load the bases.
Ahmed followed with an infield single off diving Francisco Lindor’s glove that brought in two runs. Quintana needed 32 pitches in the inning.
Matt Chapman’s two-run double in the third buried the Mets in a 4-0 hole.
Wilmer Flores walked leading off the inning and Jung Hoo Lee singled before Chapman hit a shot toward the left-field line that Brandon Nimmo misplayed, allowing the second run to score.
“[Quintana] was having a hard time locating the fastball, getting ahead of hitters,” Mendoza said. “He got behind in counts, a lot of three-ball counts. There was a lot of soft contact … but overall I think he’s got to get back to finding the fastball and getting ahead of hitters.
“This is a guy who has had a pretty good career commanding the fastball and moving the ball around and I feel like he’s nibbling a little too much now. He’s got to be more aggressive and he’ll be fine.”
Alonso snapped a homerless drought that had reached 28 at-bats with a shot that cleared the left-field fence leading off the fifth.
It was homer No. 199 in Alonso’s career and his team-leading seventh this season.
Alonso had singled leading off the second inning, but got erased with Brett Baty’s double-play grounder.
The Mets’ only other hit through five innings was Starling Marte’s bunt single in the first, on which he got thrown out trying to reach second on Winn’s errant throw.
Quintana was allowed to stay in the game to begin the sixth and surrendered a homer to Conforto on the first pitch that gave the Giants a 5-1 lead.
Quintana was immediately removed after Conforto’s blast.
The Mets wasted a chance in the seventh when Alonso, Baty and Stewart were retired in succession after Marte’s leadoff single and Lindor’s walk.
The runners got as far as second and third on a wild pitch by reliever Ryan Walker before Stewart grounded out.
