Twins blanked by Mets 2-0 as David Festa gets no support from offense

NEW YORK – Brooks Lee lined a high sinker from Sean Manaea into center field during the third inning on Tuesday, but didn’t advance any farther before the inning ended.

Why is that worth mentioning? Because it represented the offensive highlight for a Twins team that hasn’t been competitive in this city all season.

Carlos Santana also picked up an infield single in the fourth inning, but the Twins were otherwise hitless, and lost to the Mets 2-0. The loss, one night after a 15-2 blowout, dropped the Twins 7½ games behind Cleveland in the AL Central, their largest deficit in more than a month, and into a virtual tie with Kansas City for second place.

“There was really not a lot going on. You have to force the action a little bit more than that by just having good at-bats — being pesky or having a long at-bat,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Really, it was just an off night.”

Particularly for the Twins’ most important hitters.

Jose Miranda returned to the Twins’ lineup two days after being hit in the head by a pitch in Detroit, but it didn’t go well. The third baseman struck out three times and grounded out.

In fact, Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis and Miranda, the 2-3-4 hitters in the Twins lineup, all had difficulty even putting the ball in play. That trio went a combined 0-for-11 with 10 strikeouts.

But Trevor Larnach flew out and, after Mets manager Carlos Mendoza summoned closer Edwin Díaz, Buxton struck out for the fourth time on the night.

“A couple guys on, Buck at the plate,” Baldelli said. “We like it when we get those kinds of opportunities. He comes through a lot.”

Just not this time.

It was the first time the Twins had been held to two hits since … well, since they were in Yankee Stadium on June 4. The Twins are 0-5 in New York this season, with Wednesday’s finale remaining.

The particularly disappointing part for the Twins is that they wasted a strong start by David Festa, who gave up only three hits in five innings while pitching in front of a crowd of family and friends from his nearby New Jersey home.

One of the three hits Festa gave up was on a fifth-inning changeup to Mark Vientos that landed in the left-field seats.

“Honestly, that’s where I wanted it,” said Festa, who thought Vientos was looking for a slider. “Baseball’s a crazy game. You can throw a good pitch, and these guys are so good, it doesn’t matter.”

Festa also handed New York a fourth-inning run by walking Brandon Nimmo on four pitches, balking him to second base, throwing a wild pitch and then giving up an RBI single to J.D. Martinez.

Still, “David had a nice night,” Baldelli said. “His first three innings were really on point. Everything looked good. He gave us a chance to win.”