Mets flattened again by the Dodgers as they lose for a second straight night
Mets have scored 1 run in 18 innings against the Dodgers in LA
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets lost for a second straight day to the Dodgers, this time by a score of 6-1 at Dodger Stadium (box)
The Mets were held scoreless for the first 15 innings of this series until Pete Alonso hit a solo home run in the seventh inning on Friday, the only extra-base hit among five hits the Mets mustered against Dodger pitching
Chris Bassitt started for the Mets and allowed four runs - three earned - over six innings while taking his third loss of the season
Francisco Lindor (small fracture in his finger) returned to the lineup after slamming his finger in his hotel door on Thursday and went 0-for-4.
Tylor Megill (biceps tendinitis) will make a rehab start with Double-A Binghamton on Sunday
The Dodgers will retire Gil Holdges no. 14 on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium
Who’s Hot 🔥
Pete Alonso is hitting .328/.417/.672 with six home runs and 19 RBI over his last 16 games
JD Davis is hitting .400/.438/.500 with three doubles over his last eight games
Eduardo Escobar is hitting .298/.292/.447 with a homer and seven RBI over his last 11 games
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (35-19) at Dodgers (35-17)
Where: Dodger Stadium — Los Angeles, CA
Starters: LHP David Peterson (2-0, 3.03 ERA) vs RHP Walker Buehler (6-1, 3.22 ERA)
When: 10:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
If they want to be the best, they need to beat the best… 📝
What a difference 48 hours can make. And in the case of the Mets, not in a good way.
For a second straight night, the Mets were left listless against the Dodgers, this time dropping a 6-1 contest with Chris Bassitt allowing four runs - three earned - over six innings of work.
The Mets had next to no response against LHP Tyler Anderson - who improved to 7-0 - and baffled the Mets for six innings with a bevy of cutters and changeups, leaving the Mets left to chase pitches from behind and no ability to square up in what seemed like a two-strike count to every batter.
Four of the five hits the Mets recorded were singles, the lone extra-base hit coming via a seventh inning home run by Pete Alonso.
The Mets otherwise never really had a chance to score in this contest. Aside from Alonso’s homer, the Mets only had two other runners reach second base the entire night, one being on defensive indifference in the ninth inning after Mark Canha singled to right.
And when the offense is as hapless as the Mets have been over the first two nights on their critical ten-game west coast trip, there is no margin for error against an elite opposing offense such as what the Dodgers have in their lineup. Bassitt - who didn’t have his A-game from the jump - allowed a two-run home run to Cody Bellinger in the second inning and a two-run homer to Zach McKinstry in the fourth inning.
Game, set, match.
“Two bad pitches and with this lineup that is basically all that it takes,” Bassitt explained after the loss.
To be fair, a quick swing of the pendulum for the Mets offense wasn’t entirely unexpected. They went from facing the Phillies and the Nationals - two teams in the mid-to-bottom rung in pitching in the National League (and one specifically that has trouble merely catching and throwing the ball) - to the major league’s best pitching staff in the Dodgers, in-between flying cross country with no day off in between.
“The outings get magnified when you aren’t scoring any runs,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said afterwards.
On top of that, the Mets have made two cross-country flights in a week - recall they were in Denver and San Francisco on the previous road trip.
“It must play some kind of role,” Mark Canha explained after the game. “I could imagine. It’s a little tough coming across the country and not having an off day and time change and, ‘Hey you are playing the next day.’ That could be an easy way to explain it, but probably not the best as an athlete and a competitor.”
No, it certainly isn’t.
The good news for the Mets is they’ve built such a large lead in the National League East to give themselves a margin for error. They can afford a brief slumber in the lineup, a bad outing from the starter here or there, etc. Even if they go 0-10 on this road trip (please let that not happen!) they will still be in first place when they return to Citi Field next Tuesday.
But at the same time, this is an important litmus test for the Mets. A World Series will unquestionably run through Southern California in one form or another and the Dodgers are clearly the class of the National League. And if the Mets are to build any confidence they can push through Los Angeles, they actually need to beat Los Angeles, or even show they can even play with Los Angeles.
If the Mets want to be the best, they have to beat the best. So far in the first two games of this series against the best, the Mets have yet to show that ability.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Mets tonight - they will have to get to Walker Buehler and hold the Dodger offense down in the process if they’re to get their first win of this series. That task will be in the hands of David Peterson and his ability to keep the change-up down to righties and the slider down to lefties.
Part of the Mets brand in 2022 is that of resilience and character. So there is reason to believe the Mets will be able to rise to the occasion, change the narrative and turn the page in this series. It’s a good test of said character, and an opportunity to grow and evolve as a club as they search for a strategy for success against Buehler and the Dodgers and avoid a series loss in Chávez Ravine.
But the time to wake up is, of course, right now.
Down on the Farm 🌾
Jake Mangum (OF, No. 22 Prospect, Triple-A): 4-for-5, 4 R, 2 2B, 3 RBI
Khalil Lee (OF, No. 7 Prospect, Triple-A): 2-for-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Francisco Álvarez (C, No. 1 Prospect, Double-A): 1-for-4, HR, RBI
Box Scores: Triple-A | Double-A | High-A Game 1 Game 2 | Single-A (PPD)
Around the League 🚩
The Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday, and then routed the Angels 10-0 at Citizens Bank Park
The Yankees routed the Tigers 13-0 at Yankee Stadium as Aaron Judge hit his league-leading 20th home run of the season
The Yankees also acquired Jake Bauers from the Reds
Shane Bieber took a no-hitter into the sixth innings as the Guardians easily handled the Orioles in Baltimore on Friday
The Padres blanked the Brewers in San Diego 7-0 thanks in part to Joe Musgrove’s eight innings of one-hit ball
The Astros and slugger Yordan Álvarez reportedly to a agreed to a six-year, $115 million contract extension