LOS ANGELES – The business returned to the Mets on Thursday.
That meant keeping the bats under a protective glass with the message “don’t break, even in an emergency” and another loss for a team that has handled them absolutely the last few seasons.
The good vibes of the conclusion of the losing streak a day earlier were forgotten with a 4-1 defeat against the Dodgers to Chavez Ravine, which pushed the Mets back below .500 and five games behind the Braves. in the Northern League.
It was also the Mets ’22nd loss in 26 games against the Dodgers, dating back to 2016. That included a three-game winning streak by defending World Series champions last weekend in New York.
A day after owner Steve Cohen tweeted about his frustration with the team’s offensive shortcomings (and the Mets scored four runs in the twelfth inning to beat the Giants to get a five-game slide), the production was minimal against seven Dodgers pitchers in a bullfight.
“We’re still safe, we’re right there,” said JD Davis, who led the Mets race with a double in the fourth. “Maybe it’s one, two, three plays that make a difference in the game.”
It won’t be any easier for the next three days, in which the Mets are scheduled to face Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer and David Price in succession. The Mets return home to face the Giants and complete a 13-game stretch against the NL West Central.
Davis, looking for a silver liner, said the fact that the Dodgers had used so many bullpen arms on Thursday will put pressure on their starters to work hard in the next game or two.
Jeff McNeil ran out of strokes in four bats from hole no. 2, expanding its recent drought to 3 by 33 (0.091). Dominic Smith (.107) also ran out of strokes in four bats to push his fall to 3 against 28. The Mets placed just three runners in the scoring position throughout the game and left five runners at base. They only achieved six hits, five of which were singles.
“We didn’t connect much,” manager Luis Rojas said.
After scoring a seventh-quarter in the seventh inning against the Dodgers in his last outing (a loss to the Mets in additional innings), Taijuan Walker was marked by two first runs and two more in the fifth.
Overall, the right-hander conceded four runs won in six strokes with four strikes and a walk. It was a third straight outing in which Walker completed at least six innings after going seven in a row without reaching that mark.
Davis ’RBI double in the fourth reduced the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1, but his base career helped kill the inning. With an outside, Smith hit a line that was caught by Trea Turner, and Davis, who was in contact, easily doubled.
Pete Alonso started the rally with a single striker against Evan Phillips and got the goal signal from third base coach Gary DiSarcina on Davis’ shot in the left corner. The double RBI was the only extra-base hit of the Mets night.
The Dodgers used productive outings in the second inning to gain a 2-1 lead over Walker. After Corey Seager took the lead and recent enemy Will Smith doubled it to third, AJ Pollock and Chris Taylor retreated on successive ground runs on the right side led by the two runners.
Billy McKinney, who was appointed to the mission by the Mets last month and claimed by the Dodgers, broke an RBI double with a pinch in the fifth that extended Los Angeles ’lead to 3-1. Taylor started the concentration by finishing second in a single on the field in which Davis threw errantly at first base. Trea Turner’s RBI single took home the Dodgers’ fourth run.
“This is a big challenge that we are going through right now and we need to do it together,” Rojas said. “These things can sometimes build up and destroy a team.”