White Sox use their Noodle Boy to avoid Citi sweep

White Sox 9 Mets 4 (Citi Field, New York, NY)

Mets Record: 34-22

Mets Streak: L1

Mets Last 10: 5-5

WP: Brandon Eisert (2-0)

LP: Griffin Canning (5-2)

Seat On The Korner:

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Three days after coming off the disabled list, Andrew Benintendi enjoyed a healthy day at the plate in helping the White Sox avoid being swept at Citi Field. Benintendi — aka Noodle Boy — went 3-for-5, a triple short of a cycle, with four RBI to get the call for the post-game appearance with Ralph. Taking his first at-bat with runners at second and third and one out in the first inning, Benintendi gave Chicago the lead it would never relinquish with a single to right to plate a pair.

Then, with a runner at second and two out in the sixth and the Mets having pulled from a 5-0 deficit to within 5-3, Benintendi slugged a triple into the right-field corner to drive in another run before scoring on a hit.

Finally, in the eighth, Benintendi capped the scoring for the White Sox with a solo home run into the seats down the right-field line.

Need To Know:

• Before giving up two runs in the first inning, Griffin Canning had allowed only one first-inning run in his first 10 starts.

• With the game time being moved from 7:10 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. due to threatening weather, all original ticket-holders will receive a voucher for a ticket to a future game.

• Despite the time switch, the Mets hosted "Bravo Night" featuring a pre-game ticketed meet-and-greet with "Summer House" cast members, as well as themed pre-game and in-game entertainment.

• Mark Vientos, hitting .130 with runners in scoring position when he came to bat against White Sox starter Shane Smith with two on in the third, crashed a three-run homer to the opposite field to draw the Mets to within 5-3 with plenty of game still to play. It was Vientos' sixth home run of the season. However, Vientos — the DH — also would strike out three times in the game.

  
  

• Mike Vasil, a former Mets No. 1 pitching prospect, made his first Citi Field appearance pitching for the White Sox and hurled three shutout innings with five strikeouts and two hits allowed against his former organization.

• Pete Alonso's run-scoring double in the ninth inning tied him with Howard Johnson for fourth on the Mets all-time list in RBI with 629.

• The Mets were 21-6 at home before the game, tying the 2021 team for the best home start after 27 games.

• Former Met Miguel Castro, pitching the ninth inning for the White Sox, injured his ankle covering first base while recording the second out and had to be removed from the game. He was replaced by Bryse Wilson who, after yielding Alonso's double and walking Brett Baty, struck out Vientos to end it.

• Chicago lead-off hitter Chase Meidroth singled in the ninth inning, extending his on-base streak to 15 games.

• The Mets have a day off before beginning a three-game series against the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies on Friday night. David Peterson (3-2) with pitch for the Mets on Friday, with Kodai Senga (5-3) starting on Saturday and Clay Holmes (5-3) on Sunday. The Rockies hadn't yet announced their starters.

Turning Point

Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil, who have been been solid defensively this season, each flubbed in the White Sox second inning to put the Mets behind the eight ball early. Trailing 2-0 going into the second, Korey Lee hit a routine grounder to Baty at third, but his throw pulled Pete Alonso off the bag to get things started for Chicago. Then, on a potential double-play ball off the bat of Josh Rojas toward the middle, McNeil tried to backhand the ball but couldn't hold on and flipped late to second to set up the White Sox to extend their lead to 4-0 on a two-out double by Mike Tauchman.

Three Keys:

That's offensive!

The light-hitting White Sox lit up Mets pitching all afternoon, banging out 12 hits against three Mets hurlers on their way to the laugher. Like Andrew Benintendi, Lenyn Sosa went 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Mike Tauchman smacked a pair of doubles and drove in two runs, while Josh Rojas also had two hits including a double and scored a run. And while the White Sox rank 28th out of 30 big-league teams with runners in scoring position, they went 3-for-13 in this game but also had an infield out with runners at second and third to score a run in the third and a sacrifice fly with two in scoring position in the seventh inning.

Mets' bad RISP management continues

The Mets went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, continuing a trend that has plagued them all season. The Mets rank 22nd out of 30 teams in that department, hitting just .212. Juan Soto remains the biggest offender with a .128 BA in those situations, worst on the team. Soto went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout and heard boos after hitting weak grounders to first in his final two at-bats. The $765 Million Man is 0-for-his-last-16 and has gone 60 at-bats without a home run. Francisco Lindor was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and Pete Alonso had an RBI double in the ninth inning off an emergency reliever after going 0-for-3.

Pen will be mightier, thanks to Waddell

If there was a bright spot for the Mets, it was that Brandon Waddell pitched five innings in relief of Griffin Canning to save the bullpen. Waddell threw a season-high 94 pitches, his previous most being 85 pitches with Triple-A Syracuse. Although he began with two scoreless innings after entering to start the fourth, Waddell did yield four earned runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out three — hardly stellar. But his effort did allow Carlos Mendoza to rest his bullpen, which has gotten a lot of work during this home stand and could benefit from some time off.