Something had to give. The Los Angeles Dodgers came into the series at Citi Field against the New York Mets on a five game losing streak, the longest for the Dodgers in five years. The Mets, on the other hand, are in a hole, and they can’t stop digging.
New York has lost eight of their last nine games, 10 of 12 and 13 of 16. This is the team with the highest payroll in the major leagues. The Mets are now 11 games under .500 and find themselves 16 games out of first place after playing just 55 games.
The Dodgers’ Losing Streak Is Over
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The Dodgers All-Star catcher Will Smith was the hero on Wednesday. He went deep twice, doubled, and scored two runs as the Dodgers finished off the Mets for the third time in 24 hours. The teams played a doubleheader on Tuesday after Monday’s game was rained out.
The two home runs put Smith on a short list with Roy Campanella, Mike Piazza, and Steve Yeager with 100 homers as a catcher in Dodgers history. After his big night Smith told media:
Yeah. That’s really cool. [Two of them] are Hall of Famers. I’m sure they hit a few more than 100. It’s a cool accomplishment, cool milestone for me. But right now, I’m just focused on winning.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 14th home run and drove in three runs in the 10-3 Dodgers win. Coming into the series, Ohtani had gone cold, in a 7-for-37 (.189) slump since his last home run on May 17 against Cincinnati. He’s also dealing with a right hamstring bruise.
The Sky Is Falling Down in Queens
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The Mets season can be summed up by what happened to reliever Jorge Lopez on Wednesday afternoon in the loss to the Dodgers. He was ejected in the eighth inning, arguing a check-swing call by third base umpire Ramon DeJesus. Lopez was charged with two runs in just one third of an inning. When he walked off the mound he threw his glove into the crowd. After the game, Lopez said, “I think I’ve been on the worst team in probably the whole ——ing MLB.”
Met’s Manager, Carlos Mendoza, would make a statement after Lopez’s explosive statement. Mendoza would go on to say:
Whenever you go through a stretch like this, you see some emotions from players, but what we saw from Lopez today was unacceptable, and we’re gonna address that. I understand guys get frustrated at times, but we’re not gonna tolerate that. He’s got to be better.
He won’t get to be better with the Mets; the team designated him for assignment shortly after his vulgar comment. Lopez said he didn’t regret throwing his glove.
In Cleveland, Lindor Takes a Shot at the Mets
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Mets superstar Francisco Lindor played his first game in Cleveland since being traded to the Mets last week and was asked by a reporter what he missed most about playing there. Lindor said to reporters that:
Winning. There’s nothing better than winning. I know we didn’t finish the ultimate goal (Cleveland lost the World Series to the Chicago Cubs in 2016).
Lindor played six years in Cleveland before signing in New York. In his three years with the Mets he’s played in just one playoff game, a 2022 wild card loss to the San Diego Padres.
About the Author
Bradley Tachco is a career journalist. I spent 12+ years at CNN as a writer and producer. My sports are the NHL, MLB, and NFL. My goal: unique content. And my teams are the Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bills (yes, I’m used to heartache), and the Los Angeles Dodgers. I have been a Dodgers fan since I was old enough to walk. I have gone through decades of despair with all three franchises. You can follow Bradley on X @p09691
