On a night filled with mistakes, the New York Mets found themselves needing another comeback.
Luis Severino mishandled two ground balls, which led to two unearned runs in the second inning. Although the Mets loaded the bases with one out later in that inning, Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor both struck out against Walker Buehler.
The Los Angeles Dodgers dominated, leading to an 8-0 defeat for New York, which gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the NL Championship Series.
“We lost 9-0 in the first game, then we came back and won Game 2. I don’t see why we can’t do that again tomorrow,” said Mets reliever Reed Garrett, who gave up a two-run homer to Kiké Hernández in the sixth inning, making the score 4-0.
Severino walked Max Muncy to start the second inning, part of a total of seven walks by Mets pitchers. Teoscar Hernández then hit a weak grounder in front of the plate. Alvarez attempted to throw to the lead runner but hit Muncy with the throw, resulting in an error.
“Maybe he tried to do a little too much there,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
Gavin Lux hit a grounder that could have turned into a double play, but it hit Severino’s glove. When he picked it up, his only option was to throw to first base for an out.
Will Smith then extended his at-bat to nine pitches and hit another grounder that deflected off Severino’s glove, allowing Muncy to score the first run. Shortly after, Tommy Edman’s sacrifice fly increased the lead to 2-0.
“I feel like my glove messed everything up in that inning,” Severino said. “I should have made those plays. One should have been an easy double play, and I should have stopped the runner from scoring.”
In the bottom of the inning, Jose Iglesias’ single followed walks to J.D. Martinez and Tyrone Taylor, loading the bases. Alvarez, who had a tough time with bases loaded during the regular season, took a called third strike on a fastball.
Next up was Lindor, known for hitting well with the bases loaded. He had previously come through with a grand slam in the Division Series but struck out swinging at a knuckle-curve on a full count this time.
“He does a really good job of tunneling,” Lindor said. “It comes from the same spot as the fastball and then it drops.”
Buehler walked off the mound, shouting and hitting his glove with his bare hand. The 30-year-old right-handed pitcher returned to the major leagues in May after having Tommy John surgery and has changed as a pitcher since he became a two-time All-Star.
“In 2018, 2019, 2020 I would have thrown a fastball,” he said.
Shohei Ohtani had the highlight of the night with a three-run homer in the eighth inning against Tylor Megill that sailed over the right-field foul pole. By the ninth inning, Citi Field was less than half-full as many in the sellout crowd of 43,883 had seen enough frustration.
New York has been shut out in both losses, managing only seven hits and striking out 20 times. The Mets’ batting average in the NLCS has dropped to 179, with Lindor and Pete Alonso both hitting 1 for 11, Brandon Nimmo 1 for 10, and Alvarez 1 for 9.
Mets pitchers have issued 22 walks.
“They’re not going to chase as much,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got to not only get ahead but also stay aggressive and execute our pitches. If we fall behind in counts, they’re going to take advantage.”
After starting the season 0-5 and falling to 22-33 when the Dodgers swept a three-game series at Citi Field in May, the Mets believe they can bounce back.
“You got to flush this one as fast as you can,” Lindor said.
