The Mets finished the first half of the season under .500 and were hoping to reverse things in the second half. After losing the first game back from the all-star break to the  Dodgers 6-0 on Friday night, the Mets turned the series over to Kodai Senga for game two. Senga was 7-5 with a 3.23 ERA through the first half of the season. He was opposed by Tony Gonsolin for the Dodgers. Gonsolin was 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA coming into the second half of the season.

The Mets struggled offensively, getting out-hit by the Dodgers 11-3 as their season struggles continued. Brandon Nimmo was the only offensive highlight of the night with a solo home run in the fourth. Senga struck out nine and threw six strong innings, but the Mets were out-dueled once again by the Dodgers and took a 5-1 loss on Saturday. The Dodgers took the series from the Mets at home by winning the first two games of the series, and the Mets are in danger of being swept on Sunday.

Jul 15, 2023; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty (22) mis-plays a pop fly by Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (not pictured) during the ninth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The first two innings were quite offensive for both squads. Mookie Betts singled off Senga in the top of the first to start the game, but a strikeout and double play left Betts stranded. Gonsolin answered by retiring the Mets in order in the bottom half of the inning.

The second inning looked similar for Senga. He gave up a one-out single but struck out two to retire the Dodgers. Pete Alonso put the Mets in the hit column with a lead-off single but was left stranded at the end of the inning.

It was the Dodgers, however, who struck first in the top of the third and opened the game’s scoring. Betts hit a two-out solo home run to right field to put the Dodgers on top 1-0 over the Mets. That was all for the Dodgers in the third.

Gonsolin kept the Dodgers on top through three as he retired the Mets in order for the second time in the game. Senga answered in the top of the fourth with one, two, three inning and two strikeouts that brought the Mets back to the plate.

Down 1-0, the Mets got fired up and Brandon Nimmo clubbed his 14th home run to deep center field to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Nimmo has been one of the few bright spots for the Mets in 2023, and is on his way to breaking his single-season home run record of 17.

Both Senga and Gonsolin retired their respective sides in order in the fifth. After five innings, the game remain tied with Gonsolin at three strikeouts and Senga at eight strikeouts.

Senga put himself in his first jam of the night in the top of the sixth. Betts collected his third hit of the night on a lead-off single. After getting an out following his strikeout, Senga, with one out, then hit and walked the next two batters he faced respectively before retiring the next two he faced to get out of the inning. Senga had nine strikeouts through six innings.

The Dodgers went to their bullpen in the bottom of the sixth. They brought on Alex Vesia to replace their starter Gonsolin on the mound with the game tied 1-1. The right-hander kept the Mets in check on Saturday, recording three strikeouts and only one run across five innings.

The Mets followed the bullpen theme in the seventh. They brought in Brooks Raley to replace Senga on the mound. The 30-year-old had another stellar night for the Mets, striking out nine batters across six innings of work.

The Dodgers then went back to their bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. They brought in the hard-throwing Brusdar Graterol to replace Vesia on the mound. After giving up a lead-off walk to Francisco Lindor, Graterol retired the next two he faced in the form of a fly-out and a double-play to send the game to the eighth tied at one all.

The Mets, with the game tied 1-1, turned the ball over to Adam Ottavino in the eighth. The Dodgers got to Ottavino, however, and re-took the lead. Muncy and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back one-out singles that put runners on the corners. Peralta then grounded into a force out that scored Muncy to give the Dodgers a late-inning 2-1 lead over the Mets in the eighth.

Ottavino continued to labor heavily. He gave up a single to Chris Taylor and hit Jake Marisnick with a pitch to load the bases, but escaped unscathed by getting Miguel Rojas to ground-out.

The Mets tried to gain some momentum in the bottom of the eighth, but were unable to produce. After Tommy Pham walked in a pinch-hit situation and then Francisco Alvarez singled to put two on. But the next three batters were retired by Caleb Ferguson as the Mets just continued to struggle and could not get anything done in the inning.

Grant Hartwig was called upon for the ninth inning, but struggled against the top of the Dodgers lineup. He gave up a lead-off single to the red-hot Betts, who was 4-for-4 on Saturday, and then two batters later, Will Smith doubled to move Betts to third. Muncy followed, and reached on a dropped pop-up by Brett Baty, scoring Betts to increase the Dodgers lead to 3-1. Martinez followed with an RBI single that made it a 4-1 game, and Peralta kept the inning going and hit an RBI single that scored Muncy to make it a 5-1 Dodgers lead.

After the Dodgers struck for three in the top of the ninth, Showalter was forced to go back to the bullpen. He brought on Dominic Leone to try to stop the bleeding. Leone forced Taylor into a fly-out to finally get out of the inning.

The Mets showed no sign of fighting in the ninth either. They went down in order against Evan Phillips who replaced Ferguson on the mound for the Dodgers. Ultimately, the Mets’ struggles continued as they lost Saturday’s game 5-1 to the Dodgers. Ottavino (0-4, 3.86 ERA) took his fourth loss of the year, while Graterol (3-2, 1.80 ERA) collected his third win of the year as the Dodgers took the series.

Player of the Game: Kodai Senga

The Metsmerized player of the game is Kodai Senga, who struck out nine over six innings pitched. He gave up just four hits and one earned run. The Japanese all-star has been amazing for the Mets this season, and has a 2.45 ERA in his last eight starts.

On Deck

The Mets will try to salvage a win against the Dodgers on Sunday. New York sends Max Scherzer to the mound, who is looking to have a better second half for the Mets. The Dodgers counter with rookie Bobby Miller, who is 5-1, but has a 4.50 ERA.

First pitch is at 1:40 PM on Sunday. The game can be watched on WPIX and MLB Network (blackout restrictions apply), and can be listened to on WCBS 880.