Behind poor pitching, the New York Mets (31-38) were unable to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers (45-26) on Monday and ultimately lost 10-6.
The entirety of the game, the Mets were fighting from behind. Despite cutting the Dodgers lead to 7-2, the bullpen faltered and the Mets couldn’t surmount the deficit.
Pitching:
After a strong start to the season, Zack Wheeler struggled mightily for the second straight outing.
Trying to bounce back from a rough start against the Chicago Cubs where Wheeler couldn’t even get through two innings and was tagged for eight runs, Monday night wasn’t too kind either.
Wheeler, who looked out of sync from the first pitch, labored through two innings and surrendered seven runs on eight hits, including two home runs off the bat of prospective Rookie of the Year candidate, Cody Bellinger.
The bullpen could not stymie the Dodgers the rest of the way.
Rafael Montero gave up a run in 3 2/3 innings of work and Fernando Salas also gave up a pair of runs in one inning.
Offense:
Jose Reyes hit two home runs off Clayton Kershaw, but when it mattered most in the eighth inning, he struck out with the bases loaded to end any hopes of a Mets comeback.
Reyes was the first player to hit two home runs off Kershaw since 2013 when Jay Bruce did it as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
Bruce hit a solo homer in the second, his 19th of the season, a solo shot to central.
Gavin Cecchini, who was recently called up from Triple-A Las Vegas, hit his first career home run off of Kershaw in the fifth inning.
The six runs the Mets scored on the evening all came via the long ball, and the four home runs Kershaw surrendered tonight was a career high for him.
On deck:
On Tuesday, the Mets will look to bounce back with improved pitching for game two of the series in Los Angeles.
Robert Gsellman (5-4, 5.50 ERA) will take on Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 3.14 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m.
