Steve Webb
NEW YORK, NY — Let’s not bury the lede here. Clayton Kershaw is pitching for your Los Angeles Dodgers again. And pitching well. That’s the thing that fans need to hold on to after Thursday’s series finale. The rest of the game, both offensively and defensively was pretty forgettable and in some cases downright regrettable. But that’s baseball. In the end it was a 5-3 loss to the Mets, marking the first time in over a month that the Dodgers have lost back-to-back games. Sure, it would have been nice to get the victory and the series win, but big picture, a lot of good happened on this road trip that ended with the Dodgers going 4-3 in Miami and New York.
Lack of command early gives the Mets a freebie
To be honest, the day could have started a lot better for Mr. Clayton Edward Kershaw. But we shouldn’t have been that surprised. Coming back after a nearly month-long layoff, Kersh more or less warned us that his stuff wasn’t where he wanted it during his sim game in Miami. And in the bottom of the first, it sure looked like it. After he got a groundout from Brandon Nimmo for the Mets’ first out of the game, Kershaw walked Starling Marte and gave up a seeing-eye single through to Francisco Lindor to put men at first and second. Then, the Mets just strolled their way to a run.
Pete Alonso walked to load up the bases. After Darren Ruf fouled out for out number two, Kersh lost the strike zone again. He walked Mark Canha on four balls that weren’t particularly competitive and Starling Marte got a free 90 feet to score the Mets’ first run of the game.
But in typical Kershaw fashion, Clayton limited the damage in the inning. With the bases still loaded, Kersh got Jeff McNeil to foul out to Max Muncy for the final out of the inning. It wasn’t a great start, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
Taylor hit puts Dodgers on top
After Kershaw escaped the bottom of the first, the offense put the Dodgers on top in the next inning. After a Max Muncy flyout, Justin Turner continued his hot hitting with a double to left. Gavin Lux moved him to third with a sharp single to center and the Dodgers had runners cornered against Mets starter Chris Bassitt. Trayce Thompson drew a walk to load up the bases, bringing the struggling Chris Taylor to the plate.
Taylor didn’t exactly pulverize the ball, but his fly to right found some grass to easily score both Turner and Lux. Problem was, there was a big of a logjam around the third base bag, and Trayce Thompson couldn’t tell if the go sign from third base coach Dino Ebel was meant for him or Lux. He rounded the bag and barreled for home, but Francisco Lindor’s relay to the plate arrived so early that catcher James McCann could have gone out for coffee and still tagged Thompson out. It was, needless to say, not one of the Dodgers’ best moments. Still, they had a 2-1 lead and had erased the rocky start that Kershaw had in the first.
Kershaw sharp through five
After finally zeroing in his sights in the first inning, Kershaw was near perfect the rest of the way. Check that. He was perfect. After the walk to Canha in the first, Kershaw mowed through the Mets’ lineup, retiring the next 13 straight hitters. If one looks at the bottom of the first as an anomaly caused by the long layoff, I think it would be safe to say that Kershaw’s return couldn’t have gone much better. After 74 pitches, his day was done, but it was impressive nevertheless: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. And, he walked off the mound in line for the win, leading the Mets 2-1.
Defense costs team a couple of runs
After Kershaw left the game, there wasn’t a whole lot to cheer about from the Dodgers perspective. And worst of all, the team served the victory up to the Mets, if not on a silver platter, certainly in a handy carry-out bag.
It was the mental errors that ended up costing the Dodgers the game on Thursday. Still leading 2-1, Chris Martin ran into trouble in the bottom of the 6th. The mess all started when Gavin Lux hung back on a weakly hit ground ball from Starling Marte. Instead of charging the ball and flipping to Freddie Freeman for the out, Lux waited for the ball to come to him before throwing to first. It was all too nonchalant and the speedy Marte legged it out for an infield hit.
Then, Martin served up a center-cut fastball to Francisco Lindor that he ripped into the gap for a game tying double. Martin struck out slugger Pete Alonso, but Lindor was able to slide in just under the tag on a steal of third. Darrin Ruf lofted a fly to left that scored Lindor, and just like that the Mets went up 3-2.
More sloppiness in the 7th
If the 6th inning weren’t bad enough, the lackadaisical play continued into the 7th and resulted in two runs against Caleb Ferguson. Ferguson quickly retired the first two hitters he faced, but then gave up a two-out double to the gap to struggling catcher James McCann. And then, the play that ended up being the difference in the game. Brandon Nimmo lofted a lazy fly to right that seemed like it was a sure thing to be the third out of the inning. Instead, a lack of communication between Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts resulted in the ball dropping between the two fielders for an are-you-kidding-me run-scoring double. Starling Marte followed that up with an RBI single of his own, and the Dodgers were now in a 5-2 hole with only six outs to play with.
Dodgers put a scare into Diaz, but come up short (twice)
For the second straight night, it was Edwin Diaz coming out of the Mets’ bullpen late in the game. But this time, the Dodgers fared a whole lot better against the All-Star closer. Freddie Freeman milked a leadoff walk, and Will Smith got hit with a pitch to put two men on with nobody out.
Then came the scary stuff. Max Muncy blasted a fly to center that he juuuust got under for a warning track out. Then, Justin Turner did the same, driving a ball to deep left center that looked like it might have a chance to leave the yard. But, once again, it was an out on the warning track. Still, this one scored a run to cut the deficit to two and bring up Gavin Lux with a two-out chance to atone for his mental errors.
He did not. Lux struck out on some 103-mph cheese from Diaz and ended the inning. Adam Ottavino retired the Dodgers 1-2-3 in the 9th and that was that. Final score in yet another winnable game: 5-3 Mets.
May returns to the bump on Friday
It’s going to be a hot one at Chavez Ravine on Friday in more ways than one. Of course, the ol’ mercury on the thermometer will probably be pushing 100 at game-time, but for the hearty fans who make it to the game, they’re in for a treat. It’s going to be Dustin May‘s third start of the year against the San Diego Padres, and if his performance so far is any indication, we’re looking for more nastiness in store for the Friars. As for San Diego, it’ll be our old pal Yu Darvish on the mound, so it figures to be another tight game for this Dodger team. Let’s get this homestand off to a big start. 7:10 first pitch — LFG!!
