The Mets landed in Los Angeles and the offense stayed back at baggage claim. Monday night’s 4-0 loss to the Dodgers pushed New York to 7-10, stretched the losing streak to six, and extended the scoreless streak to 20 innings. David Peterson punched out seven, but Justin Wrobleski carved the Mets up for eight scoreless and Andy Pages made the loudest swing of the night with a three-run shot.
The bigger story is not the pitching. New York’s staff has a 3.64 ERA and 3.38 FIP so far, while the lineup has dragged itself to a .230/.297/.341 slash, 13 homers, and an 85 wRC+. That is a very expensive way to score 3.6 runs per game. Tonight’s counterpunch is Nolan McLean against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. McLean has been one of the Mets’ early bright spots with a 2.70 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 31.3% K rate, 48.6% ground-ball rate, and a .194 average against.
Quick Hitters
- Last night: Dodgers 4, Mets 0. New York managed three hits, no extra-base damage, and never mounted real pressure.
- Trend line: The Mets have lost six straight and sit fifth in the NL East, three games behind Atlanta.
- Roster move: Tommy Pham is back up. Ronny Mauricio went back to Syracuse as the Mets try to shake the lineup awake.
- Injury watch: Juan Soto remains on the IL with a right calf strain, with MLB listing late April as the current target window.
- Tonight’s matchup: McLean vs. Yamamoto. The Dodgers have the edge on paper. The Mets need to turn that paper into a bonfire.
Why this matters for Mets fans
This is the point where “it’s early” starts sounding like a hostage note. The Dodgers are 12-4 with a 141 wRC+ and 29 home runs. The Mets are 7-10 with an 85 wRC+ and one of the coldest offenses in the league. New York does not need perfection tonight. It needs traffic, hard contact, and an actual pulse before this road trip starts swallowing the week whole.
What changed, and what needs to change
The Mets are not just missing Soto. They are missing impact. Francisco Alvarez has been excellent, Luis Robert Jr. has done his part, and Jared Young has quietly given quality at-bats. Too much of the rest of the lineup has been mud. Bo Bichette is carrying a 64 wRC+, Mark Vientos sits at 79, Marcus Semien is at 55, and Brett Baty is at 49. That is how a team winds up with respectable pitching and a six-game skid anyway.
Tonight’s fix is not complicated. Stop giving Yamamoto easy strikes. Stop expanding once the count turns ugly. Let Alvarez and Robert hit with people on base for a change. Crazy concept, I know. Yamamoto has held hitters to a 3.0% walk rate so far, so New York cannot spend the night helping him.
NL East Quick Hitters
Atlanta got punched in the mouth by Miami, 10-4. Philadelphia hung 13 on the Cubs. Washington got curb-stomped 16-5 by Pittsburgh. The standings still say the Mets are only three games back, which is the annoying part. This thing is still fixable. It just stops being fixable fast if the lineup keeps showing up with oven mitts on.
Around Major League Baseball
The Dodgers look exactly like the monster everyone expected. Their offense is slashing .289/.369/.493 with a 141 wRC+ and 29 homers, while Andy Pages has opened the year like a human flamethrower with a .417 average, .733 slugging, and 230 wRC+. That is not a team you survive against with empty at-bats and polite little grounders to second.
Mets History Today
- 1962: The Mets allowed the first home run in franchise history, courtesy of Bill Mazeroski.
- 1968: Nolan Ryan earned the first win of his Hall of Fame career.
- 1976: Dave Kingman launched the moonshot at Wrigley that still gets discussed like campfire folklore.
- 1999: John Franco recorded his 400th career save.
Final read
This is the kind of night where a young starter can become the story. McLean does not need to out-glamor Yamamoto. He needs to keep the game in one piece long enough for the Mets to remember that the point of batting is to actually damage the baseball. If New York loses another game 2-1 or 3-2, fine, tip the cap. Another flatline offensive performance and the sirens get louder for good reason.
