The Mets took 2 of 3 from the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine. While winning a series against the Dodgers in LA is something to be proud of, the last game of this series ended the series with a thud. The Mets remain above .500 with a record of 12-9. Following an 0-5 start to the season, the Mets have gone 12-4 after that and have been one of the hottest teams in the league. Up next for the Mets are the 10-13 San Francisco Giants before a travel day on Thursday and a return home to Citi Field to face the 9-13 St. Louis Cardinals.
This series against the Dodgers was a good measuring stick of where the Mets stand after the roller coaster that was the start to 2024. They come out with a passing grade after winning the first two games of the series, but the series finale was a 10-0 Dodgers victory that put a bit of a damper on the positive vibes as they travel from LA to San Francisco. The Mets came into Sunday’s loss already having clinched their sixth straight series win, and the winners of 6 straight games. The Mets exit LA now 8-2 in their last 10 games. Per ESPN’s Relative Power Index (RPI), the Mets were ranked #2 in all of MLB entering play on Sunday, behind only the Milwaukee Brewers. Each team that the Mets have played so far this year (Brewers, Tigers, Reds, Braves, Royals, Pirates and Dodgers) are .500 or better.
Also in Sunday’s finale, from a historical standpoint, congratulations to Shohei Ohtani, who broke Hideki Matsui’s MLB record for most home runs by a Japanese-born player with 176.
Los Angeles Dodgers Series – Key Takeaways
The Mets got off to a great start through the first two games of the series vs. the Dodgers. Game 1 was a 9-4 Mets victory. The Mets jumped out to a 4-0 lead with the scoring started by a 2-run HR by DJ Stewart. After the Dodgers tied the game in the 6th, Francisco Lindor put the Mets ahead by a 6-4 score with a HR, notably from the left side of the plate where he has struggled this season. After adding 3 more insurance runs, the bullpen continued their recent quality stretch and closed the door on the 9-4 Mets victory.
In Game 2, the Mets and Dodgers exchanged runs and were tied 2-2 at the end of the 5th inning. Then, in the sixth, Starling Marte delivered a 3-run blast to put the Mets up 5-2. After Michael Tonkin (brought back after being DFA’d earlier this season and ending up with the Twins for a bit) allowed 2 ER’s in the 6th inning, the back end of the bullpen shut the door to preserve a 6-4 victory. Edwin Díaz entered in the 8th inning with Ohtani coming to the plate being followed by Freddie Freeman. After walking both to load the bases, he struck out the next two batters to end the 8th having thrown 20 pitches. This enabled Reed Garrett to pick up his first career save.
Game 3 was a bit of a revenge game for the Dodgers. They were able to come up with timely hits, after loading the bases on numerous occasions in the first two games of the series. Ohtani’s record-setting HR in the 3rd set the pace and gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. They did not look back from there, adding 8 runs in the 5th to cap the scoring in the 10-0 Dodgers win. Tyler Glasnow was dominant on the mound for the Dodgers. Mets starter Adrian Houser did not look good, failing to register an out in the 5th and being tagged with 8 ER’s over 4.0 innings. Grant Hartwig, a fresh call-up to the MLB bullpen, allowed 2 more ER’s on a 3-run HR by Andy Pages (included one inherited runner charged to Houser). Michael Tonkin pitched the last 2 innings and did not allow an earned run.
On the injury front, the positive is that Brett Baty was back, with a pinch hitting appearance in Game 2 of the series and the start at 3B in Game 3. Despite being hitless in 5 at-bats over those two games, it was encouraging to see Baty on the field so soon after his hamstring injury.
Transitioning to less encouraging news, another of the Mets young foundational building blocks suffered a similar injury to the thumb ligament tear that Baty suffered in 2022. Francisco Alvarez stumbled rounding first in Game 2 of the series, and caught himself with his left hand. While catching himself, his thumb bent and he tore ligaments in his left thumb. He will have surgery this week and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
Here are 3 Key Themes Impacting the Mets Moving Forward:
Garrett the Great: The legend of Reed Garrett continues to grow. The reliever, who was not even on the Mets opening day roster, picked up his first career MLB save in the 6-4 Game 2 victory for the Mets. Notably this was the second game of back to back appearances and came after throwing 33 pitches in Game 1 of the series in picking up the win. It is a testament to his strong performance this season that manager Carlos Mendoza would turn to Garrett to deliver the save vs. a tough Dodgers team on the road. After Diaz threw 20 pitches in the 8th inning to get through the heart of the order, Garrett only needed 13 pitches to strike out the side in the 9th for the save. Entering play on Sunday, Garrett led all MLB relievers with 21 strikeouts. He is also carrying a 3-0 record with a 0.00 ERA, the 21 K’s and 1 save as the team exits LA. Garrett is definitely one of the feel-good stories early in the 2024 season.
Alvy Injury Impact: As mentioned above, Francisco Alvarez tore ligaments in his left thumb and will be out until at least June. Alvarez was a key member of the “Baby Mets” (Alvarez, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos) that delivered a breakout year in 2023 with 25 HR’s and was primed to continue his development in 2024. Alvarez and Baty are close friends, and Baty went through the same surgery in 2022 which will enable him to provide some advice to Alvarez as he heals. It will be worth watching if Alvy will be ready in the 6-8 week time period. Healing ligaments in the hand he catches 90+ mph fastballs with just sounds difficult. In terms of roster construction, Omar Narvaez now steps into the starting Catcher spot. The Mets were fortunate to have Tomas Nido at AAA, and he joined the big league squad in LA to provide a veteran backup presence with solid defensive skills. Alvy’s injury and implications call the Mets catching situation into question, including who could be developing in the minor leagues if needed. Here is a link to a great article by Brian Handzel, one of our other talented Sportz writers on the topic.
Even After 4/15 (Tax Day), the Bullpen is Still Being Taxed: While the Mets starting pitchers have pitched admirably early this season, this series against the Dodgers was a bit of a different story. The most innings a starter ate up in the series was 5.0 by Sean Manaea in Game 1. Jose Butto followed that with 4.1 innings in Game 2 and Adrian Houser with 4.0 in Game 3. The state of the Pitching Staff is a key area to watch moving forward. Francisco Alvarez was the first position player to be placed on the IL this season, joining ace Kodai Senga, starter Tylor Megill, reliever Sean Reid-Foley and reliever Brooks Raley (who pitched in the first game on Friday and was placed on the IL on Sunday). Nine different relievers appeared in the series, some more than once, and the bullpen allowed 4 ER’s over 12.2 innings against the Dodgers, good for a 2.84 ERA. While the starting rotation was not anticipated to be the 2024 Mets’ strong point, they need to be better than what they showed vs. LA and eat up more innings to preserve the bullpen.
Who’s Next: San Francisco Giants
Up next are the 10-13 San Francisco Giants, the first Mets opponent of 2024 with a record below .500. The Giants are coming off a series split at home vs. the defending National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. They are 5-5 at home on the season and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Here are a few players to watch 2 of the 3 with ties to the Mets:
Michael Conforto: A name that is very familiar to the Mets and Mets fans, Conforto was a fan favorite when he was with the Mets from 2015-2021, including being named to the NL All Star team in 2017. He was a valued member of the Mets 2015 World Series team and hit 132 HR’s while a member of the Mets. He missed the 2022 season after having shoulder surgery. He seemed very appreciative of the video tribute and recognition of the fans when he returned to Citi Field as a member of the Giants in 2023. Conforto is batting .259 with a .771 OPS so far this season, and has 4 HR’s and 15 RBI’s. Conforto does not have much of a sample against the projected Mets starters in the series, batting 2-6 (.333) vs. Jose Quintana, 0-8 vs. Luis Severino and 2-4 (.500) vs. Sean Manaea.
Wilmer Flores: There are some players that endear themselves so much to a fanbase that no matter what, they’ll always be loved by those fans. Such is the case with Wilmer Flores and the Mets. Back in 2015, a report broke during a Mets game that Flores was part of a trade that would bring Carlos Gomez to the Mets for the pennant race. Flores heard he had been traded during a game and broke down crying when he went back in the field as he didn’t want to leave the Mets. He ended up not being traded, but this reaction made him a cult hero for Mets fans. Flores has had mixed results against the Mets expected starters, batting 2-8 (.250) with a HR vs. Quintana, 0-4 vs. Severino and 7-21 (.333) vs. Manaea.
Blake Snell: The southpaw won the Cy Young Award in the AL in 2018 with the Rays and in the NL in 2023 with the Padres. As one of the Scott Boras clients who held out for huge contract offers that never came this past offseason, he signed with the Giants in mid-March to a 2-year/$62 million deal that includes an opt-out. So far in 2024, Snell’s record is 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA. He is expected to take the mound for the series finale against the Mets.
It will be interesting to see how the Mets respond after winning their sixth straight series but losing the final game against the Dodgers by the score of 10-0. The Giants represent the first opponent with a record under .500 so on paper this should be another series win for the Amazin’s. However, the more you watch baseball the more you’ll see something that is unexpected. Following the Giants, the Mets will return to the friendly confines of Citi Field. As always, Let’s Go Mets!
You can also check out what is going on with all 4 minor league affiliates of the Mets right here as we have Amazin coverage of our Mets!
Written by: Jason Krom
Stats by espn.com
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