NEW YORK _ The Mets' hot bats were cooled off by some unlikely sources Sunday afternoon.
After scoring at least six runs in three of their last four games, the Mets were held in check by Daniel Gossett and the Athletics' bullpen in a 3-2 loss at Citi Field, which snapped a four-game winning streak. The rookie came into the game with a 5.79 ERA and 1-5 record, but he struck out six and allowed two runs, five hits and two walks in six innings.
Oakland's bullpen had the third highest ERA (4.92) in baseball, but relievers Daniel Coulombe, Blake Treinen and Santiago Casilla retired nine of the 10 batters they faced to end the game.
The Mets tied the game at 2 in the sixth inning when Jose Reyes' groundout to second base drove in Jay Bruce, but Matt Chapman homered off Rafael Montero in the next frame to put Oakland back ahead.
The blast was the third home run Montero allowed in the game, but otherwise, the 26-year-old righty delivered a solid performance. He pitched seven innings, marking only the second time in his career he went as far, while striking out four and allowing seven hits and one walk.
Montero also earned his first big league hit to spark an unusual rally with the Mets down 2-1 in the fifth inning. He lined a single to center with two outs and though Michael Conforto struck out, he advanced to first on a wild pitch that also allowed Montero to advance from first to third. Curtis Granderson then blasted a line drive up the middle but it was right back to Gossett, ending the threat.
Marcus Semien opened the scoring with a home run in the first inning, before Conforto tied the score with a shot to right in the third, his 19th home run of the year.
After the Semien homer, Montero had retired eight of the next nine batters he faced, but surrendered his second home run to Khris Davis in the fourth.
Oakland threatened in the fifth after Chapman led off with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch, but was picked off by catcher Rene Rivera. After Jaycob Brugman singled during the next at bat and was bunted to second, Montero induced a groundout to short from Matt Joyce to escape the inning unblemished.
Home runs aside, it was an encouraging start for Montero, who came into Sunday with a 5.40 ERA over 45 innings. While he was averaging 9.6 strikeouts per nine inning, he also walked 5.0 batters per nine. Incidentally, home run suppression had been one of the other areas where Montero has had success this year, as he had only allowed 0.4 home runs per innings over his first 45 innings this season (the major league average is 1.3).
