Mets come back in 9th, but squander chances and lose to Dodgers in 13 inning marathon

Dodgers 7 Mets 5 in 13 innings (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 30-21

Mets streak: Lost 1

WP - Luis Garcia (2-0)

LP - Huascar Brazoban (3-1)

Seat on the Korner:

We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.

Teoscar Hernandez drove in two runs early in the game to extend the Dodgers' lead to 3-0, and then after a wild Mets comeback in the 9th, Hernandez drove in the go ahead run in the 13th and the Dodgers held on for a 7-5 13 inning victory.

Need to Know

• The Mets are now 1-4 in their last five games.

• Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso were a combined 0-for-12 with 1 run scored and 4 walks.

• The Mets tied the game in the 9th inning on a two run triple by Jeff McNeil and an RBI single by Tyrone Taylor off Tanner Scott.

• After a rain delay of 1:38, both Griffin Canning (2 and 2/3's) and Clayton Kershaw (2 innings) were removed from their starts. (Brandon Nimmo also left the game after the delay with a stiff neck.)

• Max Kranick came in after the delay with a 3-1 count on Freddie Freeman and walked him. He then gave up two singles bringing in the three runs on base, all changed to Canning. This breaks Canning's streak of six straight starts where he gave up 2 runs or less.

• Brett Baty's homer was his 5th in the last 13 games, and 6th of the year ... all at home.

• The Mets are 9-11 against the Dodgers since 2022. This after a 5-22 stretch from 2017-2021.

• Soto hit into his 10th double play in the first inning, which leads the majors. With tonight's 0-for-5, Soto is now 5 for his last 40.

• Pete Alonso's homerless stretch reached 63 at-bats tonight.

• Michael Conforto played his first game at Citi Field since leaving the Mets, and his base hit in the third against Canning was the first hit of the game for either team.

• Mark Vientos was a late scratch due to abdominal soreness. He was slated to bat second in the order.

Turning Point

After the Mets tied the game in the 9th, they had multiple opportunities to win the game, as Edwin Diaz and Reed Garrett did an excellent job of holding the Dodgers scoreless for three ghost runner filled extra innings.

But the Mets also couldn't take advantage of their chances. Juan Soto grounded out meekly to first with runners on first and second before Pete Alonso lined out to center to end the threat in the 10th. Luisangel Acuna grounded a 3-1 pitch to third with the bases loaded and two outs to end that threat. But the 12th was the absolute turning point as Luis Torrens, playing first for Alonso who was lifted for a pinch runner in the 11th, had a chance to win it with the bases loaded, the infield in (plus Tommy Edman who came in from the outfield), and one out.

The Mets bullpen had set up this lineup for glory by shutting down the billion dollar Dodgers for three innings. Yet, the lineup couldn't deliver.

Three Keys

Started With The Bottom

It's a shame that the Mets squandered so many opportunities in extra innings, because the 9th inning rally off Tanner Scott was so invigorating, even after a long rain delay and a longer slog through the Dodgers' middle relief corps leading up to the ninth. Matt Sauer and Ben Casperius shut down the Mets after the rain delay. But Jeff McNeil, who came in for Nimmo after the rain delay, faced Scott, who he had success against (2-for-3 career with a homer), and lined one down the right field line to give the Mets hope.

Then Tyrone Taylor sent the Mets to extra innings ...

Too bad the Mets couldn't finish the job as the biggest names in the lineup failed to come through.

The Bullpen Was Great, But at What Cost?

The Mets went to the wall to try to steal this game, and they got key contributions in extra innings from Edwin Diaz in the 10th ...

... and Reed Garrett in the 11th and 12th.

Carlos Mendoza did what he had to do to try and win this game. But after exhausting everyone in the 'pen (even Genesis Cabrera pitched two scoreless innings), then either David Peterson goes nine tomorrow or the Mets will have to do some creative book keeping between the big club and Syracuse to get a fresh arm or two on the roster. This could affect them for not just Saturday, but also Sunday against the Dodgers.

The Max Muncy Rule

Never thought we'd see the "Sean Avery Rule" called in a Major League Baseball game, but here we are:

When I watched this play live, the first thing I noticed was Teoscar Hernandez double pumping the throw. I thought then, Marte was safe. No chance. But Hernandez threw him out. It was a great throw, but I didn't think that made sense because Marte isn't that slow. But then when you notice that Muncy impeded his view (which is a rule I never knew existed), then it all made sense. Credit to Mike Sarbaugh for noticing it right away. Almost makes you think that they had a scouting report that Muncy does this (as the radio team pointed out as a possibility.)