Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets continued finding ways to win this week, beating the Dodgers two games out of three despite pitching struggles and being shut out by Clayton Kershaw. The final game came in tribute to Metsmerized founder Joe D, may he rest in peace.

It was a good time for the Mets to get the Dodgers, who have scuffled out of the gate. Still, the Mets are giving no apologies for beating a team that won 111 games last season when they’re down.

3 Up

Nimmo Continues to Rake

Brandon Nimmo continues to justify the Mets’ investment in him. He went 8-for-14 in the series, including a 5-for-5 finale with a two-run homer off ex-teammate Noah Syndergaard. Nimmo also made another fantastic catch in the opener; he seems to like showing off his glove against the Dodgers.

Nimmo is currently slashing .349/.481/.476/.957 through 63 at-bats. His batting average is the ninth-best among all qualified hitters in baseball, while his OBP is second. He has 15 walks (tied for third) vs. seven strikeouts (tied for the seventh-fewest).

Nimmo’s five-hit game was the second of his career; the last was on August 15, 2018, against Baltimore. The Mets’ record for five-hit games in a career is Keith Hernandez‘s three. Nimmo has plenty of time to go with the team to tie and even break that record.

Bullpen Bend But Don’t Break

The Mets’ bullpen once again ate up many innings in this series—12 out of the 26 innings the team pitched. In the middle game, the bullpen broke and allowed the runs that put the game out of reach, although the Mets were unlikely to come back from down 3-0, anyway, before John Curtiss gave up two runs in the eighth to make it 5-0.

However, in the two victories, the bullpen did enough. In the opener, Brooks Raley pitched 1.2 innings, allowing two hits in the eighth and giving way to Drew Smith to finish off the inning. Adam Ottavino slammed the door shut with a 1-2-3 ninth.

In the rubber game, the bullpen combined for six innings of three-run, four-hit ball with three walks and four strikeouts. It wasn’t perfect, but it did the trick. The most dangerous spot of the game was when David Robertson allowed an RBI double to J.D. Martinez in the eighth inning, making the score 3-2 and forcing an intentional walk to Max Muncy to leave runners on first and second with just one out. Robertson escaped by getting popouts from Jason Heyward and Miguel Vargas.

After Mark Canha gave the Mets two insurance runs, Ottavino gave one back on a homer to David Peralta. However, he retired the next three in order to earn the save.

With the injuries, poor performances, and lack of length that the Mets have received from their starters for much of this season, the bullpen has held down the fort. For all of their individual struggles, they somehow find a way to lock it down in the end, helping the team to a 5-1 road trip thus far and a 7-2 record in their last nine games.

Maybe Canha Can, After All

Mark Canha has endured a slow start to the season, hitting just .213/.319/.393. However, he showed some signs of life against the Dodgers, going 3-for-9 in the series, including an epic 13-pitch at-bat against Kershaw that ended in a single. In the finale, he hit a key two-run double in the eighth inning to give the Mets breathing room against the Dodgers.

Canha did not light up the stat sheet in the series, but he did several good things that could give him something to build on going forward.

Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

3 Down

Pitching Poorly for His Job

Before the season started, I argued that David Peterson deserved the rotation spot vacated by José Quintana. Peterson has done anything but demonstrate that. His outing against the Dodgers did last six innings, but he allowed six runs on seven hits, including three home runs. Peterson’s ERA is now 6.10 on the season, and his FIP is 5.49. His saving grace is that his xFIP is 3.56, and the BABIP against him is .368; this suggests that he may be getting somewhat unlucky. However, his 2.18 HR/9 allowed is more than double his rate from last season and continues to victimize him.

Peterson will certainly be around for the time being due to the Mets’ injuries in the rotation and Scherzer’s likely looming suspension. However, with the return of Justin Verlander expected in two weeks and Scherzer’s timeline roughly the same, the lefty could find himself the odd man out in the rotation.

Marte Misery

Starling Marte had a very poor series against the Dodgers statistically, going 1-for-12 with six men left on base and two double plays. To add injury to insult, he left the finale with neck stiffness.

Marte was the Mets’ most consistent hitter last season, finishing the year with a .292/.347/.468 stat line. The team dearly missed him down the stretch, and his lack of health may have been the single biggest reason for their first-round exit from the playoffs.

In the early going of this season, though, the ball is not bouncing Marte’s way. His average exit velocity and hard-hit rate are both below average, but they’re actually both higher than in 2022; for the most part, throughout his career, Marte’s success has not come from being a masher. However, his xBA is in the 67th percentile for hitters at .271, while his actual average is just .233.

Many of Marte’s other underlying metrics are actually better than they were last season, including barrel rate, xSLG, xwOBA, strikeout rate, and walk rate. These all suggest that the ball will eventually start bouncing his way with more regularity.

The Mets will need to check on Marte’s neck, as he previously strained it during a stolen base attempt against the Marlins on April 9.

Wrong End of a Milestone

Kershaw is, perhaps, the most dominant pitcher of his era. The Mets have experienced that firsthand, as Kershaw owns a career 11-0 record and 2.03 ERA in 17 appearances against them.

Still, New York got Kershawed in the middle game of the series, as he completely shut them down through seven dominant innings. He allowed just three hits against no walks, striking out nine. 77% of his pitches went for strikes.

It was Kershaw’s 200th career victory, and the Mets were his victim. They continue to struggle against left-handed starters this season, slashing .198/.291/.323/.613 against them in nine games. Kershaw was the best of the bunch.

The Mets conclude their road trip with a four-game stint in San Francisco to play the Giants.