This isn’t the first time in 2024 that the Dodgers have impacted Mets’ fortunes. After sweeping New York on May 29, it looked like ’24 would be a lost season for the Mets. It wasn’t. The team went 67-40 from there, got into the playoffs, and won the first two rounds. Now, they face LAD again. This time, the Dodgers are one win away from sending the Mets home for the off-season.
The hated Dodgers are about to finish the job after taking a 3-1 NL Championship Series lead over the overachieving Mets. This time, they were beaten 10-2 on Thursday night at Citi Field.
I don’t know if the Mets have enough to overcome this deficit. You see, the Dodgers are great. The Dodgers have outscored the Mets 30-9 in this series. The Mets have gone 4-for-29 with runners in scoring position, stranded 35 runners on bases, and allowed 31 walks. There’s no argument about who the superior team is in this series.
Game 4 brought home the sobering reality that the Mets’ magic ride is likely over. When the Dodgers are going well pitching and hitting, there’s nothing the Mets can do about it, and that’s what happened Thursday night. Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts combined for two home runs, five hits, five RBI, and seven runs, and those are just some of the game stats.
The Mets came in as a hot team, boasting a competent lineup and efficient pitching staff. But in this series, nobody has hit well outside of Mark Vientos, Starling Marte, and Brandon Nimmo. The Dodgers pitchers have neutralized Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, and the Dodgers have been able to work the count and get on base against the Mets pitchers.
We can rip the Mets for not doing enough to win, complain, and demand better. But the Dodgers are finally getting a significant Return on Investment by building a lineup with starting pitching depth, a bullpen, and a bench. When the sport’s highest-payroll baseball team wins two games on the road, that’s a sign of a championship team. It wasn’t just that they won; they dominated the home team.
You don’t have to like the Dodgers. God knows I hate them, but you can marvel at how good they are. They employ veteran hitters who wear out pitchers and victimize bullpens, hitters who know how to talk walks and launch the ball into the bleachers. If there is baseball’s best team, you are looking at them right now. Honestly, they have been the best team all season. You can even make a case they have been disrespectful since they have often underachieved in the postseason.
The bad guys will have the last laugh unless the Mets prove otherwise. They must win the next three games, and that seems like asking too much against a star-studded team that is peaking at the right time. Plus–if that’s not bad enough–even if the Mets win tonight, the next two games are on the West Coast.
Tall order? It’s the tallest. Vegas has the Dodgers ending it tonight. If that’s what happens, it will mean that not even Grimace can save the Mets this time.
