CHICAGO — Tylor Megill could have passed for a ’62 Met in the early part of Friday’s game, but by the time his night ended, all was forgiven.
Simply, Megill got his act together against a White Sox team that has a chance to be MLB’s worst ever and gave the Mets a chance to win.
Megill pitched into the sixth inning and the Mets won 5-1 at Guaranteed Rate Field for their fifth victory in eight games on this three-city road trip.
The White Sox, who are challenging the ’62 Mets’ record for futility — that team established an MLB record with 120 losses — lost for the 34th time in 38 games.
The White Sox need a 12-14 finish to avoid losing 120 games.
Those numbers aren’t important to these current Mets, who are fighting for the postseason.
This latest victory allowed the Mets to remain within three games of Atlanta for the NL’s third wild-card spot.
Megill, in his third stint this season with the Mets, was recalled Friday from Triple-A Syracuse to take Paul Blackburn’s rotation spot.
Blackburn was placed on the injured list last weekend after he was hit on the right hand by a line drive and suffered a contusion in San Diego.
Megill has frustrated team officials by working deep into counts, driving up his pitch count.
That same pitcher was on display during the first two innings on this night before Megill got rolling, retiring 10 straight batters into the sixth.
The Mets received strong relief, with Adam Ottavino, Reed Garrett, Phil Maton and Edwin Diaz combining to pitch the final 3 ²/₃ innings scoreless.
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It was a third straight day in which Diaz was used — the first time this season the right-hander has taken on that kind of workload.
Megill was removed after Gavin Sheets reached on a one-out single in the sixth.
Overall, the right-hander allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts over 5 ¹/₃ innings in which he threw 97 pitches.
Andrew Benintendi delivered an RBI double in the first that brought in the game’s first run.
Megill walked Nicky Lopez leading off the game for the White Sox and threw a first-pitch cutter that Benintendi jumped on with one out to put the Mets in a 1-0 hole.
Megill loaded the bases in the second on two singles and a walk but escaped by retiring Luis Robert Jr.
In the third, Benintendi singled leading off the inning, but that was the last White Sox base runner until the sixth. Included in that run was Megill striking out the side in the fifth.
The Mets won a replay challenge in the top of the second that allowed the inning to continue with the tying run scoring.
Harrison Bader was initially ruled out at first base to complete an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play with the bases loaded.
Upon further review, he was safe and Jesse Winker’s run counted. Winker and J.D. Martinez singled in succession against Jonathan Cannon to start the rally before Jeff McNeil’s walk loaded the bases.
Martinez’s two-run homer was the big hit in the third, when the Mets scored three times to go ahead 4-1.
Winker doubled in Pete Alonso, who started the rally with a walk.
Martinez followed with a shot over the left-field fence for his 16th homer of the season and second in five games.
Francisco Lindor doubled in the ninth and Brandon Nimmo’s single moved him to third before Mark Vientos’ sacrifice fly gave the Mets their fifth run.