Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets (35-19) took on the Dodgers (35-17) Friday night for game two of a four-game series in Los Angeles. The Dodgers won game one 2-0 and were the first team to shut out the Mets this year. New York was hoping for a better game on offense this time around. Unfortunately, it was the Dodgers’ bats that were hot, and the Mets’ offense stayed quiet, leading to a 6-1 victory for the Dodgers.
Chris Bassitt had an interesting start for the Mets. He pitched well for the most part but gave up two-run homers in the second and fourth innings. After former Met Justin Turner reached on a base hit to right field to start the second inning, Cody Bellinger followed with a two-run shot. In the fourth inning, Bellinger reached first on an error by Eduardo Escobar. One out later, recently called up Dodger DH Zach McKinstry hit a two-run homer and the Dodgers had all the runs they needed to win, though they would tack on runs later.
Bassitt tossed his first one-two-three inning in the fifth inning. That allowed him to stay in for the sixth inning after throwing 93 pitches through five innings. He got the first out and then walked Bellinger, Bassitt’s second walk of the night. Bassitt then struck out the next two batters, bringing his strikeout total to eight, matching his season high. His final line was four runs on six hits in six innings of work.
Joely Rodriguez was the first reliever up for the Mets. He started the seventh inning and struck out two, with a base hit for Mookie Betts sandwiched in between. Stephen Nogosek came in to get the final out of the inning. Unfortunately, he was unable to retire Trea Turner and Betts, who had reached third earlier thanks to a stolen base and a wild pitch, scored on Turner’s infield single. Nogosek was able to recover and strike out Will Smith to end the inning.
Nogosek stayed in for the eighth inning. He retired the first two batters, but then gave up a solo home run to Chris Taylor, which made it 6-1 Dodgers. Taylor’s homer was also the Dodgers’ third homer of the night.
On the offensive side, the Mets’ bats were stifled again. Dodgers’ starter Tyler Anderson and his funky delivery had the New York hitters off balance all night. Unlike in Thursday’s game, the Mets were able to get the leadoff man on base in a couple of innings. Escobar singled leading off the third inning and J.D. Davis singled leading off the fifth inning. But Escobar was stranded at first, and Davis was erased by a double play.
It wasn’t until the seventh inning, when Anderson was out of the game, that the Mets were able to get a run across. Pete Alonso started the inning with a solo home run off the first pitch he saw from Dodgers reliever Yency Almonte. The Mets did not score again for the rest of the game. They threatened in the eighth, thanks to walks to Tomas Nido and Starling Marte. However, Francisco Lindor was unable to drive them in and grounded out for the final out of the inning. The Mets have been held to one run in 18 innings so far this series.
Player of the Game: Pete Alonso
Alonso scored the Mets’ first run in LA this year thanks to his seventh inning home run. In doing so he made sure the Mets avoided being shutout in back-to-back games. Alonso also played solid defense in the game. He made a great diving catch on a line drive in the fourth inning.
On Deck
The Mets and Dodgers meet again for game three Saturday night in LA. Game time is 10:10 p.m. ET. David Peterson is starting for the Mets, while Walker Buehler will take the mound for the Dodgers. The game will be on SNY.
