Mets Offense Stymied in Game 3 Loss

You win some, you lose some. On Wednesday night, the Mets found themselves on the latter side of that statement. The offense was stymied in an 8-0 loss, as the Mets as a unit only mustered four hits and eight baserunners over the course of the contest. However, it wasn’t as if they didn’t have chances to make a dent in the scoreboard.

Their first opportunity came in the bottom of the second, as a Jose Iglesias single and a Tyrone Taylor walk set the table for Francisco Alvarez to do some damage with just one out.

Unfortunately, Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler had the better of him, and, after striking out Alvarez, did the same to Francisco Lindor to end the scoring threat.

The Mets had another opportunity in the bottom of the sixth, against Los Angeles relief arm Ryan Brasier.  Starling Marte and J.D. Martinez sat on base with one gone, but Iglesias couldn’t produce, grounding into an inning-ending double play. 

The Mets left eight runners on base, went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position, and struck out 13 times against four innings of Buehler and five innings of Dodger pen.

“You’ve got to flush this one as fast as you can,” Lindor said. “It’s been the same thing all year round – if you win, enjoy it and turn the page. If you lose, learn from it.”

It’s been a streaky NLCS thus far for the orange and blue, as they’ve been absolutely shut down in games one and three of the series. They showed up in game two, tallying seven runs against the Dodgers’ bullpen game. However, against Dodger starters, the Mets have collected just five hits across 11 innings.

To give the Mets some credit, there were a few times they fell victim to the xBA demons despite making solid contact. Mark Vientos flew out in the fifth, sending the ball 388 feet at 103.6 MPH off the bat, good for a .760 xBA. The ball also would have been a home run at Dodger Stadium. In that same inning, Lindor flew out on a 350-foot, 100.9 MPH shot that clocked in at a .520 xBA.

Earlier, in the fourth, Iglesias was retired via a 99 MPH lineout that was projected for a .770 xBA off the bat. In fact, for all balls hit for an xBA of .500 or more, the Dodgers were 6-for-7. The Mets were 1-for-5.

What does all this mean? The Mets had some unlucky moments.

However, they did not lose this game because they got unlucky. They were outplayed, and when they needed the big hit, one with a great xBA, they couldn’t come through.

However, we can look at the positives. The Mets did hit the ball hard (when they didn’t strike out), and they saw some of the Dodger relievers well. If the cards had all landed the Mets way, maybe they could have racked up six, seven, or eight hits, and it wouldn’t have felt like such a blowout.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. That’s baseball.

We’ve seen them shake off a rout of a loss just two days ago. Now it’s time for them to do it again.

“We got beat 9-0 the first game, then we came back and won Game 2,” Reed Garrett said post-game. “I don’t see why we can’t come back and do that tomorrow.”

“We got beat 9-0 the first game, then we came back and won Game 2. I don’t see why we can’t come back and do that tomorrow.”

– Reed Garrett pic.twitter.com/P2NAe4zV70

— SNY (@SNYtv) October 17, 2024

 

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