Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Frustration continues to mount and build and implode on top of itself for the New York Mets.
They lost to the Dodgers again on Friday, this time by a score of 3-2 at Dodger Stadium. They were in in the game, and Carlos Carrasco turned in a decent outing, but they ultimately couldn’t do enough against Dodgers ace Walker Buehler. They nearly staged a comeback in the eighth, but they lost some tough battles and were plagued by some questionable calls as they failed to come through with that big hit.
The Dodgers struck first. After a perfect first inning for Buehler, Trea Turner led off the bottom of the frame with with a double and eventually came around to score on a Justin Turner groundout.
Trea Turner delivered another hit in the third against Carrasco, this time a single. The scorching hot Max Muncy followed with a double, allowing Turner to score for the second time and increase the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0.
But they weren’t done there, as Justin Turner walked and Corey Seager singled him home. The Mets were stuck in a three-run hole, which with the way their offense has been going lately, already seemed insurmountable.
But the Mets showed some life in the fourth. Pete Alonso showed incredible strength in an opposite-field homer against Buehler, reaching his arms out at a pitch on the outer part of the plate and somehow smashing it 105 mph over the right-center field wall. Just like that, the Mets were on the board.
But they fell silent against Buehler, as he retired 12 straight Mets. On the pitching side, Carrasco settled down to give a decent five-inning, three-run performance while striking out six and walking only one. Aaron Loup, Trevor May and Seth Lugo all provided spotless innings in relief as well to keep the Mets in the game.
Patrick Mazeika of all people was the one to break up the streak of 12 consecutive Mets retired, singling to start the eighth. Brandon Nimmo reaches on an infield hit, and a wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position. Just like that, the tying run was on second base.
Jeff McNeil put up a hard-fought battle, eventually “striking out” on a pitch that missed the plate. McNeil was irate, throwing his bat and yelling while running up the first base line. He continued to yell and pout in the dugout, not letting it go over easily.
“That’s just the way he is. He’s not going to change…,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said. “After the game, he was really hard on himself. Some of us went to him and told him it was a good at-bat.”
The inning wasn’t over though, as Alonso stepped up to the plate against Buehler in a critical situation. He hit a soft nubber that Justin Turner had to hold onto, allowing a run to come home. But on further replay, the ball clearly hit Alonso’s foot and should have been called a foul ball. The umpiring in the eighth inning was a complete disaster.
Buehler was pulled from the game there, but continued jawing with McNeil and home plate umpire Nestor Ceja. Buehler was ejected from the game.
Left-hander Alex Vesia came in and walked Michael Conforto in a tense, 10-pitch battle. But J.D. Davis struck out looking on a fastball right down the middle, shaking his head while Vesia pumped his fists on his way into the Dodger dugout. It was yet another key opportunity blown by the Mets.
The Mets went down without much of a fight in the ninth, falling one-two-three against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. The loss brought the Mets to two games under .500, six games out of the first place Braves and six games out of the second Wild Card spot.
“Guys are going to be mad. Guys are going to be upset,” Conforto said. “We’re honest with ourselves. We’re not living in a fantasyland where we think everything is great, like the standings aren’t there. We’re very aware of that. But we’re going to stay confident.”
The Mets still have two more games to play against the Dodgers, starting with a 4:05 p.m. ET matchup on Saturday. Rich Hill (6-4, 4.08) will be taking the mound against yet another Dodgers ace in Max Scherzer (10-4, 2.69).
