Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets dramatically defeated the Dodgers 8-6 on Monday night, clawing back from three separate deficits to earn their fourth consecutive win. The comeback effort, which had shades of their 2022 season, started early for New York, after Freddie Freeman tagged David Peterson for a solo home run in the bottom of the first.

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the second, Mark Canha singled with two outs to set the stage for Daniel Vogelbach. The left-handed DH drove a fastball over the wall in left-center field to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. It was the first home run of the season for Vogelbach, who has gotten most of the starts at DH against right-handed pitchers. He has a 110 OPS+ early in 2023, while also holding an above-average .238/.448/.439/.877 slash line against right-handers.

The Mets immediately lost their lead in the bottom of the second, though, after Austin Wynns doubled to bring home Miguel Vargas and Trayce Thompson. However, the Mets’ adversity continued in the top of the fourth when they retook the lead for the second time on Monday. New York put two runners on base with nobody out for Jeff McNeil, who took the first pitch he saw to left field to tie the game at 3-3.

McNeil has gotten off to a slow start in 2023, and only has 15 hits in 60 at-bats (.250 batting average). However, the flying squirrel has 11 walks through 17 games, which is a quarter of his total walks—40—from 2022. His three hits on Monday night, which included two doubles, raised his batting average from .218 to .250, and his OPS from .659 to .738.

The Mets weren’t finished in the top of the fourth after McNeil’s game-tying single. Vogelbach grounded out to Vargas, bringing home Alonso to record his third RBI of the night and give the Mets a 4-3 lead. Then, in his 2023 MLB Debut, Brett Baty rifled a single to left field, which brought home McNeil and increased the Mets’ lead to 5-3.

Unfortunately for the Mets, their 5-3 lead didn’t hold up for long. Freeman hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at five, and then Max Muncy hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Dodgers a 6-5 lead.

Facing a deficit for the third time on Monday night, the Mets rolled up their sleeves and went back to business. Facing Francisco Lindor with the bases loaded and nobody out in the top of the seventh, Phil Bickford balked, which brought home Tomás Nido to tie the game at 6-6. Afterward, Lindor grounded out to Freeman to give the Mets a 7-6 lead. Alonso gave the Mets an insurance run in the inning as well, singling to left field to increase the Mets’ lead to 8-6.

Thanks to gutsy performances from the Mets bullpen, and more defensive help from Brandon Nimmo, the Mets defeated the Dodgers 8-6. The game mirrored a boxing match more than a baseball game, but after trailing three separate times, the Mets prevailed.

The win on Monday night over the Dodgers was reminiscent of the 2022 team that had the flair for the dramatic. It was a different look from their performance against the Padres on April 11, where they stranded two runners on base in the top of the ninth to lose 4-2. The Mets were deemed by other MLB teams in 2022 as comeback kids, not wasting any outs and grinding out at-bats. The performance on Monday night is an indicator that this team is heading in the right direction and has some perseverance that was lacking in the first couple of weeks of the season.