The Dodgers executed in the clutch and the Mets didn’t. The Dodgers got great results from their pen and the Mets didn’t. The end result was a 10-2 loss Thursday night at Citi Field. The Mets will try to stave off elimination Friday afternoon, as they trail in the series, three games to one.
The Mets had 10 hits, 3 walks and a HBP. That should have resulted in more than two runs, even more so considering they had a home run. But they were 0-10 with RISP and they left 12 men on base. It’s just a tough way to try to win a game.
This was always going to be a tough game, with Jose Quintana needing to get hitters to chase out of the zone and the Dodgers being a great team at avoiding that very thing. Quintana didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, allowing 5 H, 5 R and 4 BB in 3.1 IP.
Mets pitchers allowed 9 BB – another tough way to try to win a game.
Back in 2017, the Dodgers swept the Mets in the regular season, winning all seven games. But it wasn’t just that they won – it’s that they outscored them, 57-15. It’s a little bit like that in this series, as L.A. holds a 30-9 edge in runs after four games. Yet it feels different. The 2017 Dodgers just beat the Mets senseless. This feels like the Mets just being completely inept with ducks on the pond, rather than boys trying to compete with men.
Perhaps that’s just a naïve thought, though.
It will be curious to see if the Mets come out with any fire on Friday. They certainly need a spark, a jolt. Running the same lineup out there hasn’t gotten the job done. Oh, wait, there was the change to Harrison Bader. He went 0-2 with 2 Ks before being replaced for a pinch-hitter. It would be nice to see Jose Iglesias and J.D. Martinez on the bench for Game 5.
Mendoza said that the Dodgers have not announced a starting pitcher yet, so he wouldn’t comment on any lineup scenarios. If I were Dave Roberts, I’d start that lefty that was warning up but didn’t pitch just to troll the Mets into starting Inglesias and Martinez again after both of them looked just awful with swing and missing and just a slow bat.
For me it’s more like boys competing with men. The Met pitching is unwilling and/or unable to throw strikes. Not only to the big boys but throughout the line up. As a viewer I feel like the Met pitchers, ready to cringe with any pitch near the plate. Conversely, the Dodger pitchers are getting tons of swings and misses, including in big spots on strikes. As a viewer I feel like only Vientos will do damage in a hitter’s count. The Mets just have too many hitters that will get themselves out, and not enough pitchers that can get out hitters that don’t get themselves out.