Mets’ Jose Quintana gives up three homers in loss to Atlanta Braves

Three big blasts and a walk between the two seconds were enough for the Atlanta Braves to dispose of the Mets Friday night at Citi Field. A three-homer third inning led to another short outing for Jose Quintana and a 4-2 loss to the Braves in the series opener.

Francisco Lindor provided the first run for the Mets, with a home run off Charlie Morton to start the seventh inning. Pete Alonso kept the ninth inning alive with an RBI single against Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias, but that was as close as the Mets came to digging themselves out of the four-run hole.

The Mets (18-19) have failed to gain momentum in recent weeks, going 6-10 since their six-game winning streak ended in April.

Quintana cruised through the first two innings and got a double play to erase a single in the third before the homers came from the top of Atlanta’s order. First it was leadoff hitter Ronald Acuña Jr., the reigning NL MVP. Quintana had it at 1-2 but he worked hard and drove a 461-foot sinker to center immediately. The ball eventually bounced past the Home Run Apple, leaving the fans picking their jaws up from the ground.

But fans gasped again when the next batter, Ozzie Albies, drove Quintana deep to make it 2-0. Austin Riley was walked, a momentary respite from the home run fest. Matt Olson then moved on, taking the first pitch he saw – a sinker – and depositing it into the visitor’s bullpen in right center field for a two-run shot.

The Braves (23-12) took a 4-0 lead.

Quintana struck out Marcel Ozuna to end the inning, but the damage had been done on the scoreboard and his pitch count. He gave the Mets two extra innings to help the bullpen, but because the Mets had the last two days off due to rain and a scheduled day off, the bullpen was completely charge.

Quintana suffered his fourth loss (1-4) with four earned runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out three batters.

Morton blanked the Mets in six innings before Lindor ended the veteran right-hander’s shutout. Morton held the home team to three hits and seven strikeouts in the 3-0 victory.

Right-hander Yohan Ramirez pitched two scoreless innings and struck out three, making a triumphant return to the Mets after the club lost him on waivers last month.

Struggling right-hander Adrian Houser came out of the bullpen for the first time this season, stranding a runner at third in the eighth inning. He received help from third baseman Brett Baty in the form of an acrobatic catch over the tarp. After Riley threw a force out, Olson threw one toward third base. Baty found him and jumped back over the tarp to escape. Riley reached second, then third on an Ozuna single, but Houser grounded Adam Duvall on a sinker and grounded out to end the inning.

He pitched a scoreless ninth to give the Mets a chance to come back in the bottom of the inning. Starling Marte walked with one out and scored on Alonso’s single, and JD Martinez nearly tied it with a two-run homer. But his ball drifted and Iglesias removed it to end the round and make the save (10).

The match was delayed more than an hour due to bad weather. Fans watched the Knicks take on the Indiana Pacers in their second-round series on the big screen while the tarp remained on the court.