Mets and, yes, White Sox are upbeat going into series

The New York Mets hope they delivered a statement by winning two out of three games against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Chicago White Sox, fresh off one of the worst seasons of all-time, traveled to New York frustrated they didn't finish authoring a more declarative statement of their own Sunday.

The Mets will look to build off back-to-back wins while the White Sox aim to continue their climb toward respectability Monday afternoon when New York hosts Chicago in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Clay Holmes (5-3, 3.13 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against fellow right-hander Adrian Houser (1-0, 0.00).

Both teams head into Memorial Day following weekend series victories at home.

Pete Alonso snapped a lengthy home run drought by hitting a two-run shot in the first inning Sunday to spark New York to a 3-1 win over the Dodgers. The White Sox missed a chance at their first sweep of the season when reliever Jordan Leasure squandered a one-run lead in the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers.

The rematch of last year's National League Championship Series -- which Los Angeles won in six games -- began in discouraging fashion Friday night for the Mets. They came back from a three-run deficit in the ninth inning but didn't score thereafter in a 7-5, 13-inning loss.

But New York overcame early deficits Saturday and Sunday to win the first of two series between the rivals over a 14-day period. The Mets open a seven-game road trip by visiting the Dodgers for a four-game set starting June 2.

"It's still early, it's May, but it was good to see the guys bounce back, especially after that game on Friday and take a series from them," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "We'll see them again pretty soon at their place."

The White Sox have the worst record in the American League at 17-36, which puts them at a 52-110 pace over the course of a full season. But that still would represent a marked improvement over last year, when Chicago suffered 121 losses, the most by a team since 1900.

The White Sox nearly reached a pivotal milestone in their rebuild Sunday, when they were two outs away from sweeping the Rangers before Texas scored three runs. The series win was the fifth of the season for Chicago, which missed a chance to complete its first sweep since it took three straight from the Los Angeles Angels from Sept. 24-26, 2024.

"We feel like we left that game there to win -- and that's a sign of growth and that's a sign of a turning point with this team," said White Sox starter Davis Martin, who was in line for the win after giving up two runs over six innings. "Obviously, we love the series win, we want to stack as many as we can. But when you have a series sweep available, you've got to take advantage."

Holmes took the loss last Tuesday, when he allowed two runs over six innings as the Mets fell 2-0 to the Boston Red Sox. Houser won his season debut last Tuesday after blanking the visiting Seattle Mariners on two hits over six innings in the White Sox's 1-0 victory.

Holmes is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and three saves in seven innings over seven career relief appearances against the White Sox. Houser is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 18 2/3 innings over five games (three starts) against the Mets. He was 1-5 with a 5.84 ERA in 23 games (seven starts) for New York last season.