The Dodgers blow out the Mets for the third time in four games, sending the Mets teetering on the edge of elimination.
Games one, three, and four of the 2024 National League Championship series did their best Spider-Man pointing at himself impression, as the Dodgers absolutely bludgeoned the Mets again. This time to the tune of 10-2 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Mets, outscoring them 30-9 in the process.
The game did not start out the way you want, as second half of the season hero Jose Quintana took the mound and immediately gave up a solo home run to Shohei Ohtani (his first hit of the entire postseason without a runner in scoring position, because sure). Quintana finished the inning well, keeping the deficit at one, but the home run proved to be an omen of very bad things to come for the Mets and their fans.
The Mets had their moment of the game in the bottom of the second, as the Mark Vientos breakout continued with a solo home run of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, tying the game at one. The second inning went by scoreless, but the floodgates started to open in the third.
The Dodgers got runners on in the third and cashed them in, the first on a Tommy Edman double, and the second on an Enrique Hernandez single. The Mets would load the bases with one out in the bottom of the frame, but only chased one home (scoring when Brandon Nimmo beat out a would be double play ball, somehow, despite being incredibly injured).
The floodgates continued to stay open from then on for the Dodgers, as they tacked on two in the fourth, two in the sixth and three in the eighth to put the Mets in their most difficult spot to date — a 3-1 series deficit in the NLCS.
The Mets, despite the score, had their chances to keep up with the consistent offense of the Dodgers. They amassed ten hits (and walked three times) on the day, but they left a whopping twelve men on base and went 0-10 with runners in scoring position. They loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth while trailing 7-2, and did not manage to plate a run. It was just another poor showing with runners on for the Mets from top to bottom.
While the season is not over, the Mets need to pull off their greatest comeback yet to continue towards the ultimate goal of a World Series Championship. David Peterson will look to keep their season alive, as Carlos Mendoza announced him as the starter after the game. The Mets will hope to figure out Jack Flaherty, who diced them up in game one to the tune seven scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits and striking out six.
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Big Mets winner: Pete Alonso, +2.9% WPA
Big Mets loser: Jose Quintana, -24.2% WPA
Mets pitchers: -43.5% WPA
Mets hitters: -6.5% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Mark Vientos’s solo home run in the second, +11% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Mookie Betts’s two RBI double in the fourth, -17.1% WPA