ST. PETERSBURG -- Sean Manaea once again looked good through five innings in his start Tuesday night against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
He also once again looked much less good in the sixth inning in the Mets’ 6-2 loss.
After allowing two runs over the first five frames, Manaea permitted three runs in the sixth to change the complexion of the game. This has been a trend for the left-hander this season, and especially of late. Over his past four starts -- all of which took him into the sixth inning -- Manaea has allowed 19 runs in 23 2/3 frames.
But from innings one through five, Manaea limited opposing batters in those starts to a .227 average and a .599 OPS with four extra-base hits across 81 plate appearances.
From the sixth inning on, Manaea has simply been a different pitcher, with opposing batters logging a .619 average and a 2.344 OPS with 10 extra-base hits across 27 plate appearances.
The Rays hit for the cycle against Manaea in the sixth on Tuesday, with Nick Fortes’ RBI double and Yandy Díaz’s solo homer being the most consequential knocks. Ryan Vilade followed Díaz’s dinger with a triple on Manaea’s final pitch of the night.
Overall, Manaea permitted five runs on 11 hits and struck out two batters in 5 2/3 innings.
Francisco Lindor led off the game with a homer to right off Freddy Peralta, who held his former club to that lone run and three hits over six innings. It was Lindor’s 16th leadoff dinger with the Mets, trailing only Curtis Granderson and José Reyes (21) in franchise history.
Lindor supplied New York’s second run on a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the seventh against reliever Tyler Wells. But the Mets’ rally ended there as Juan Soto, representing the go-ahead run, popped out.