CLEVELAND Jose Quintana had thrown just 52 pitches as the sixth inning began Wednesday, eliciting hope from his manager that the left-hander would le sen the bullpens load and work through the seventh. But those kinds of outings have been few and far between throughout MLB and more so for Mets starting pitchers, who have had difficulty finishing six innings. Their starters have averaged le s than 5 / innings per start. Carlos Quintana delivers a pitch during the Mets 6-3 lo s to the Guardians. Getty Images On this day Quintana allowed three hits in the sixth and by the time he recorded the final out his shutout had disappeared and the Guardians had three runs. Andres Gimenezs three-run blast was the big hit of the inning and game in the . Explore More The 70 pitches thrown by Quintana were the fewest in a start of at least six innings in his career. The whole time when [Quintana] Chris Boucher Jersey is going through those middle innings Im thinking hes going to go deep, especially with the way hes throwing the ball, manager Carlos Mendoza said. Quintana had faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings with the help of two double plays turned behind him. Delivering insights on all things Amazins Sign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+ Thank you By clicking above you agree to the and . Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! But after Austin Hedges bunt single in the sixth, Tyler Freemans double and Gimenezs three-run homer Mendoza decided to reach into his bullpen for the seventh. The outing of at least six innings was only Quintanas second in 10 starts this season. Reed Garrett surrendered one run in the seventh before the Guardians added two in the eighth against Adam Ottavino. We were really in a good position to win this game, Quintana said. Its just really frustrating to be swept in this series. Quintana allowed two earned runs over 5 / innings last Thursday in Philadelphia, helping the Mets end a three-game skid. Mets starting pitcher Jose Quintana delivers during the first inning. AP His strongest performance of the season came three starts earlier when he allowed one earned run over eight innings to beat the Cardinals. But succe sive duds against the Rays and Braves followed. I feel so close and I have been throwing the ball way better [lately], Quintana said. I want more. I want to finish in the best way and get results and win the games. That is the reason we are here. Its so tough and its a hard time right now. Terence Davis Jersey