Final Score: Dodgers 5, Mets 2—Business as usual

Zack Wheeler was effective early in tonight’s game, holding the Dodgers scoreless through five innings. He was assisted in the third inning by a highlight reel catch from Michael Conforto that saved a run. But the sixth inning unraveled on Wheeler and culminated in a Cody Bellinger grand slam that proved to be the difference in the game.

The Mets responded in the bottom of the sixth inning with Jose Bautista’s first home run as a Met, a two-run shot that brought the Mets within two. But away from Coors Field, the Mets’ bats were mostly silent once again, failing to capitalize on opportunities against Alex Wood with men on base. Wood worked out of jams in both the second and the fifth innings to hold the Mets scoreless before the Bautista home run.

The Mets were gifted another opportunity in the eighth, when Max Muncy—new to second base—committed an error on an easy double play ball off the bat of Asdrubal Cabrera to keep the inning alive. But with first and third and one out, Jose Bautista promptly hit another double play ball that the Dodgers successfully converted to end the threat and get Scott Alexander through two scoreless innings.

Anthony Swarzak gave the Mets a scoreless inning in the eighth. But Chris Beck surrendered an insurance run in the ninth in the form of a Yasiel Puig solo home run. Kenley Jansen easily disposed of the Mets in the ninth, pitching a 1-2-3 inning to secure the victory for the Dodgers. The Mets have now lost four straight and ten straight to the Dodgers.

Full recap to follow.

GameThread Roll Call

1. MetsFan4Decades: 127
2. stickguy: 63
3. Jets Mets Devils Nets 16: 56
4. David Klein: 49
5. Allison McCague: 40
6. LaRomaBella: 33
7. AnneInFlushing: 25
8. jed_eye: 24
9. JohnInSouthJersey: 21
10. NateW: 15

Nice job by MetsFan4Decades; her effort in the GameThread embiggens us all.