CHICAGO — As uninspiring as it was over three days, it still counts.
The Mets arrived on the South Side with no other acceptable option but to sweep this mess of a team called the White Sox and got that job accomplished Sunday, with few points for style.
Sean Manaea was brilliant, but the Mets lineup not so much in a 2-0 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field that completed a strong road trip.
The Mets won seven of 10 games on the three-city jaunt and departed for home assured they would be no further than two games behind Atlanta for the NL’s third wild card.
The Mets scored only 12 runs over the three games, but strong work from the rotation and bullpen helped them avoid embarrassment.
The White Sox established a franchise record with their 107 loss and remain on pace to supplant the 1962 Mets as the worst team in MLB history.
Manaea dominated over seven shutout innings in which he allowed two hits and walked two with five strikeouts.
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Reed Garrett and Edwin Diaz combined to work the final two innings scoreless.
Diaz earned his third straight save since his meltdown Wednesday in Arizona.
Manaea didn’t face a real threat until the seventh when he walked Andrew Vaughn and allowed a two-out single to Gavin Sheets, putting runners on the corners.
But Manaea, who had plunked Luis Robert Jr. to begin the inning (he got nailed by Luis Torrens attempting to steal second), recovered from a 3-0 count to Miguel Vargas and got the final out.
Garrett Crochet tied a White Sox record by striking out seven straight batters to begin his start.
Luis Torrens ended the streak with a ground out in the third inning.
Francisco Lindor led off the fourth with a home run.
The blast was his 29th of the season and extended his on-base streak to 30 games, which is the longest active in the major leagues.
Lindor hit four home runs on the road trip.
Manaea retired the first 11 batters he faced before Lenyn Sosa walked with two outs in the fourth.
Sosa was picked off first base to end the inning.
Miguel Vargas delivered the first hit against Manaea with a single to left field with two outs in the fifth.
Manaea rebounded to strike out Dominic Fletcher.
The Mets had their own struggles.
Starling Marte singled leading off the fifth and got picked off for a caught stealing.
Torrens followed with a single, but the Mets couldn’t build from it.
J.D. Martinez walked leading off the seventh, but Marte, Torrens and Harrison Bader struck out in succession.
Marte delivered an RBI double in the ninth that gave the Mets their second run.