The Mets lost one game against the Dodgers in the previous series against them at Citi Field, and it was a game they had every chance to win. The Mets lost on Tuesday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, and it was a game they had every chance to win. The Mets lost today against the Dodgers 6-5, and it was a game they had every chance to win. If you want to be an optimist, you can say that it’s a good thing that they’ve managed to compete in every game they’ve played against the team that eliminated them last year and whom they might very well face again this October. Alternatively, one can be frustrated by the repeated failures of the team to capitalize on potential rallies and hold onto leads. In any event, the Mets leave Los Angeles following today’s loss with just a series split.
Landan Knack started for the Dodgers and did not have a good day at the office. Following a 1-2-3 first inning, Pete Alonso—fresh off hitting two homers last night—led off the top of the second with an opposite field shot to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Knack subsequently issued two walks in the frame, but managed to get out of it with just the one run. The Mets would go on to add more runs in the following inning, however, with Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte hitting back-to-back solo shots to make it 3-0. Knack then continued to struggle with his command, hitting Alonso with a pitch and walking Jeff McNeil before giving up a single to Tyrone Taylor to load the bases with one out. Brett Baty then lined a ball to left field; Conforto made the catch, but his throw home was off by just enough for Alonso to slide into home before the tag, and the Mets had themselves a 4-0 lead.
David Peterson—making his second start against the Dodgers this season following his sterling 7.2 inning outing a couple weeks ago—was thus granted a nice cushion early on. However, after putting up zeroes in the first couple innings, he would give up a big chunk of the lead back in the bottom of the third. The struggles in the frame started with a one-out walk to number nine hitter Miguel Rojas—a bad strategy, given the strength of the top of this Los Angeles lineup. Shohei Ohtani then hit a soft ground ball up the middle for a single, followed by a double to Mookie Betts to score the first Dodger run of the afternoon and put two more runs in scoring position. Both of those runs would go on to score—the first on a single to left from Will Smith, and then the second on a ground ball fielder’s choice to second that Teoscar Hernández beat out the double play on. Peterson got Andy Pages to line out to right to end the threat, but the score was now 4-3 and the Dodgers were right back in the ballgame.
The Mets then went on to have some of their traditional hitting with runners in scoring position issues the next couple innings. The Mets loaded the bases on three straight walks (the first two off Knack, who then exited the game after just 3.1 innings of work) with one out in the top of the fourth, but Alonso struck out and McNeil flew out to strand all three baserunners. In the following inning, they got two more runners on, but once again could not bring any runs home. Perhaps the most frustrating failure, however, came in the sixth. The Mets once again had two baserunners on thanks to singles from Marte and Alonso. A wild pitch from former Met José Ureña put them on second and third with one out. Following a lengthy at-bat, McNeil struck out, and Will Smith then picked Marte off at third to end the threat. To the surprise of no one, the Mets would come back to rue these missed opportunities.
While the team’s inability to capitalize offensively was frustrating, Peterson thankfully rebounded nicely following his rough third inning. His next four innings were scoreless (thanks in part to ground ball double plays in the fourth and sixth innings), and he finished his afternoon by striking out Ohtani looking to complete a 1-2-3 seventh inning. His final line—7 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, 3 runs—was solid despite the one rough frame, and it was certainly encouraging to see him once again hold his own against one of the best lineups in the league.
Meanwhile, the Mets finally got some insurance in the eighth inning. After Ureña—pitching in his third inning—recorded the first two outs, Marte hit a shot to left field for a double, his third hit of the game. Following an intentional walk to Soto, Alonso then made up for his previous failure with runners in scoring position by lining a single to right to bring the run home and make it 5-3.
Alas, the two-run lead did not last long. Reed Garrett came on for the eighth and quickly walked Mookie Betts to leadoff the inning. Will Smith then hit a double to left that rolled against the wall long enough for Betts to score all the way from first. Hernández then hit a long fly ball to center that was deep enough to allow Smith to tag to third, putting the tying run ninety feet away. Andy Pages then hit a soft grounder to third which Brett Baty fielded, but he double clutched the ball as Smith made his way home, and his subsequent throw to the plate bounced and allowed the run to score to tie the game. Having lost the lead, Garrett then threw a wild pitch to let Pages move to second, but he did strike out Tommy Edman for the second out. Following a pitching change and Freddie Freeman being announced as a pinch-hitter, the Mets elected to keep Garrett in and intentionally walk Freeman to face Michael Conforto. The former Met made them pay for that decision, lining a single to left to bring in the runner from second and give the Dodgers their first lead of the day.
Brandon Waddell came on to get the final out of the inning and keep the Dodgers lead at just one run, but it didn’t end up mattering. Tanner Scott came on for the top of the ninth to close out the game for LA, and save for a two-out single by Francisco Alvarez, the Mets went out quietly against them. Thus, New York has to settle for a split in the four-game series against the Dodgers—not a terrible outcome in most circumstances, but frustrating given the chances they had to win both of the games they lost this week. In general, leaving thirteen runners on base as they did today is not a particularly sound strategy, and the Mets should probably try to stop doing that. They will look to rebound against the Rockies in Colorado this weekend.
SB Nation GameThreads
Box scores
Win Probability Added
Big Mets winner: David Peterson and Pete Alonso, +21.0% WPA
Big Mets loser: Reed Garrett, -71.9% WPA
Mets pitchers: -47.9% WPA
Mets hitters: -2.1% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Pete Alonso RBI single in the eighth, +12.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Michael Conforto RBI single in the eighth, -28.5% WPA
