"It's on me"- Jose Quintana blames himself for Mets' collapse against the A's

Jose Quintana had an off day during the Mets' series finale against the Oakland Athletics. In a frustrating 7-6 defeat, the Mets starter could only pitch 4.0 innings and also surrendered four runs that led to the A's comeback.

Quintana allowed a grand slam in the fourth inning to J.J. Bleday. The 35-year-old was in fact able to strand Oakland second baseman Zack Gelof twice in a bases-loaded situation in the first and third but his luck ran out eventually.

At the start of the fourth, Quintana had a 5-0 lead thanks to Mark Vientos' two-run home run and Luis Torrens' two-RBI single. But Bleday's grand slam gave the Athletics impetus as they rebounded against the Mets bullpen.

In the post-game interview, Quintana blamed himself for the loss:

"It's frustrating and in the end it's on me. This game is on me. They gave me really good opportunities to win this game and I couldn't make it," Quintana said.

The 2016 All-Star also gave up four walks out of a season-high 12 by the Mets. He was able to get out of the fourth by retiring Shea Langliers but looking at his high pitch count (92 pitches), manager Carlos Mendoza looked towards the bullpen.

Mets-Athletics record longest regulation game in 2024

At 3 hours 45 minutes, the series finale between New York and Oakland was recorded as the longest this year. In fact, the 425 pitches were also a record this season.

The major reason for the length was the season-high 11 walks given by the Mets, while the Athletics gave away five. The Athletics will also consider themselves lucky to have stranded a season-high 16 batters on base.

Carlos Mendoza's Metsies will be a bit concerned as the Braves have pulled ahead in the second spot of the NL East. They have a 13-13 record after the All-Star break and despite some strong offense, they lack much-needed firepower in the pitching department.