The Mets suffered their third straight loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, falling 10-3 in the series finale at Citi Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Here are some takeaways…
– Struggling closer shortly after placement Edwin Diaz on the injured list with a right shoulder injury, the Mets suffered another major blow, as Pete Alonso was forced out of the match after being hit on the right hand by a James Paxton 93 mph fastball in the bottom of the first. Brett Baty came in as pinch runner and played the hot corner Mark Vientos slide to the first.
– After dominating in his six minor league rehab appearances, David Peterson had a bit of an up and down regular season debut. The southpaw did well to limit the damage, as he allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits while walking one and striking out two on 86 pitches in five innings of work.
– Stretch back to Francisco Lindor‘s home run in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, New York went 20 consecutive innings without scoring a run Tomas Nido finally broke the ice with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth. Lindor followed that up with a walk, and after advancing to second base on a Baty groundout, JD Martinez evened things up with a double against his former team.
But on the day they lost their closer, the Mets’ late-inning bullpen struggles were once again the story, as Will Smith a suspension cracked Adam Ottavino slide over the left field fence for a lead solo home run in the eighth. The righthander allowed one more run, as the next three batters reached base on a walk and two singles before he was pulled.
Jorge Lopez came in and allowed the inherited runners to score, and two more at a Shohei Ohtani Homer, I’m getting rid of this for good. Ohtani was held in check during Game 1 of the doubleheader, but broke through this afternoon with a pair of singles and three RBI. Lopez was ejected with two outs after barking at third base Ramon De Jesus after a non-check swing call on Freddie Vrijman.
Game MVP: Will Smith
Take a series Smitty.
Bel-Air’s Fresh Prince scored three runs that afternoon and finished with a double and a pair of solo home runs, giving him three long balls in the three-game set.
Highlights
Upcoming schedule
The Mets conclude their homestand with a four-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks beginning Thursday at 7:10 p.m.
Christian Scott (0-2, 3.97 ERA) takes the ball for New York, still looking for his first career win against top right-handers Zac Gallen (5-4, 3.12 ERA).
