Dodgers Spoil Walker Gem in 2-1 Victory Over Mets

Another highly contested game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets took place in Flushing last night. For the second time in consecutive nights, the reigning World Series champions and the Metropolitans went to extra innings. The Mets, despite a gem that featured a no-hit bid into the sixth from starting pitcher Taijuan Walker, frustratingly fell short in the tenth inning once again, losing to LA, 2-1.

With Walker Buehler on the mound, it was expected to be somewhat of a pitcher’s duel. Well, luckily for the Mets, the other Walker, Taijuan, also came to play. Each pitcher spun three hitless innings before the Mets struck first. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, the now hot Michael Conforto slugged a 386-foot home run. The ball just cleared former Met Billy McKinney‘s out-stretched, over-the-wall placed glove. This put the Mets up 1-0 going into the fifth.

Unfortunately for the Mets and Walker, the no-hit bit would come to an end during the top of the seventh inning. After getting the first out of the inning, Will Smith struck again and launched a 444-foot, second-deck home run to left field. Corey Seager followed with a 104.2 MPH line-drive double over the head of Dominic Smith. Walker settled down and was able to get AJ Pollock to strike out swinging through an electric splitter which he relied on all night.

Unfortunately, Walker would not finish the inning as he issued a walk to the next batter. After taking a no-hitter into the sixth, Walker’s final line read: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 8 SO, 93 pitches. An absolute gem of a performance by a pitcher who desperately needed it.

The left-hander Aaron Loup (0.1 IP, SO) relieved Walker and pitched to the left-handed Cody Bellinger. After a foul ball that would have been a two-run double just missed hitting the chalk, the next pitch home plate umpire Ben May ejected Luis Rojas for arguing a called ball. This was Rojas’, tied for the major league, fifth ejection of the season. Loup, after the ejection, fought back from a “3-1” count to strike out Bellinger on a beautiful cutter well outside the strike zone.

The Mets fed off the previous strikeout and boisterous Saturday night crowd at Citi Field and got the first two men on base the next half-inning. However, Tomas Nido was instructed to bunt and proceeded to foul off the first two pitches of the at-bat then struck out. The ace, Buehler, then got pinch-hitter Travis Blankenhorn staring at a fastball right down-the-middle and got Brandon Nimmo to pop out to the catcher with the count full. Buehler threw a gem of his own, allowing only one run which lowered his NL-leading ERA to 2.09 while posting another 10 strikeouts.

Miguel Castro (1.0 IP, 2 SO) pitched a dominate eight-inning striking out two and getting Trea Turner to ground out to first base. After a scoreless Mets’ half of the eight, Max Muncy led the inning off against Seth Lugo (1.0 IP, 1 H) with a 46.7 MPH dribbler to a vacated left side of the infield and beat it out. Lugo rebounded and got a fly-out and two fielder choices to get out of the inning unscathed.

After a scoreless bottom of the ninth, Yennsy Díaz (1.0, 1 H, 1 R, 2 SO) entered the game for the Mets to begin extra innings despite Lugo only pitching one inning. Díaz started the inning by getting Chris Taylor out looking thanks to a generous strike three call. However, Bellinger lined a double down the left-field line to drive in the runner on second. Two former Mets, McKinney (ground out) and Justin Turner (strikeout swinging), made the last two outs of the inning.

In the bottom of the tenth, pinch-hitter James McCann and Brandon Drury both struck out. Nimmo was able to battle out a long at-bat but ultimately ended the game with a ground out to first base.

The Mets’ bullpen was once again strong (0 ER in 3.1 innings) and Conforto’s home run was his seventh hit over his last 17 at-bats (.412 AVG.). With the loss, the Mets drop to 1.5 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves. Each of which won their respective games.

The Mets and Dodgers will end the team’s three-game series tomorrow night on national television at 7:08 PM ET on ESPN. This will not be the last time these teams see each other, as the Mets will travel to Los Angeles for a four-game series on August 19th.  The expected pitching matchup for the finale tomorrow: Carlos Carrasco (6.75 ERA) versus Max Scherzer (2.67 ERA).