Mets Beat Knack Thanks to Tyrone Taylor (sung to the tune of My Sharona) 3-1

Mets 3 Dodgers 1 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)

Mets record: 32-21

Mets streak: Won 2

L10 : 4-6

WP -Kodai Senga (5-3)

LP - Landon Knack (2-2)

SV - Reed Garrett (1)

Seat on the Korner: Pete Alonso

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.

Each night, we hand out a virtual seat on the Korner a tribute to the great Ralph Kiner and his iconic postgame show on WOR-Channel 9, where the game’s star would sit down for a little chitchat with Ralph (whether they liked it or not). Tonight, the honor goes to Pete Alonso, whose mighty 406-foot two-run homer in the first inning was the difference in a low-scoring affair. Pete entered the game mired in the longest home run drought of his career 65 at-bats, 71 plate appearances, and 16 homer less games but ended it with one swing of the Polar Bear paw. There wasn’t much offense otherwise, and while Kodai Senga pitched like a samurai, Ralph always preferred the long ball. Plus, after years of mispronouncing “Mitsubishi,” he wasn’t about to tangle with “Kodai” or “Senga” tonight. So Pete, grab a seat on the Korner and maybe bring a bat, just in case Ralph wants a demo.

Need to Know

• The Mets are 19-6 at home this season.Their .760 winning percentage at home is the best in the majors this season.

• The Mets continue their nine-game homestand (2-1) against the White Sox (three games) and Rockies (three games).

• Tonight was Mark Vientos Bobblehead Night and in a case of unfortunate symbolism, the first ball hit to him in the first inning slid right under his glove for an error. The bobblehead stayed down. Mark didn’t.

• Kodai Senga hadn’t allowed a home run to any of the last 202 batters he faced — a career-best streak that spanned eight straight starts. Shohei Ohtani ended that quickly, taking the second pitch of the game deep. Senga’s streak was the longest by a Mets starter since Chris Bassitt went eight games without giving up a homer from July 29 to September 7, 2022. The last longer stretch by a Mets starter? Jacob deGrom’s 10-game run from June 11 to August 2, 2014. Despite the blemish, Mets starters have allowed just 21 home runs all season, the fewest in the majors.

  
  

• The top of the second inning on ESPN featured a mic’d-up segment with a twist, Francisco Lindor was mic’d on the field, while his wife Katia was mic’d in the stands. The conversation ranged from date nights and 4 a.m. diaper changes to Katia’s podcast, The Un-a-Parent Podcast. Baseball, meet reality TV.

• The top of the second inning also included a brief delay as the umpires made Kodai Senga switch out his white glove.

  
  

• Starling Marte entered the game in the bottom of the 7th as a pinch hitter for DH Jared Young and promptly lined a base hit to left. It was his 4th hit in 8 at-bats during the series—a tidy .500 mark—and continued a strong stretch at the plate. Over his last 12 games, Marte is now 11-for-33 (.333) and has reached base in 11 of those contests.

  
  

Turning Point

The turning point of the game came just four batters in, as the Dodgers looked ready to blow things open in the top of the first. Shohei Ohtani set the tone with a leadoff homer, his 18th of the year to give L.A. a quick 1–0 lead. Then Mookie Betts reached on an error by Mark Vientos, bringing up Freddie Freeman, the third MVP in the Dodgers’ lineup and a longtime Mets nemesis. Freeman roped a 99.4 mph line drive to center for a double, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. Will Smith followed with a fly ball to center field, and Tyrone Taylor positioned himself perfectly. Mookie Betts tagged and broke for the plate, sliding in just as the throw arrived. He was initially ruled safe by home plate umpire Marvin Hudson, but the Mets challenged, and won. The overturned call erased a crucial second run, and with Freeman still on third with two out, Kodai Senga shut the door by striking out Teoscar Hernández. Instead of a crooked number, the Dodgers came away with just one run. That was all they’d get, as Senga and the Mets bullpen slammed the door the rest of the way.

Three Keys

Kodai Senga has a Knack

Kodai Senga didn’t have his sharpest stuff Monday night, but he showed exactly why he’s one of the National League’s toughest pitchers: even without his best, he found a way to keep the Mets in the game. After serving up a leadoff homer to Shohei Ohtani on the second pitch of the game snapping a personal streak of 202 batters without allowing a longball—Senga settled down and wiggled out of jam after jam. He stranded a pair in the first, danced around a leadoff single in the fourth, and escaped a bases-loaded situation in the fifth with help from some timely outs. Senga’s final line: 5 1/3 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts on 101 pitches. It wasn’t dominant, but it was gutsy, efficient enough, and gave the Mets a chance to win. Most impressively, he left with his ERA at a sparkling, league-best 1.46.

Great Pen (manship)

The Mets bullpen was nothing short of magnificent on this night, picking up where Kodai Senga left off and slamming the door on the Dodgers across the final 3.2 innings. It started in the top of the sixth, when Ryne Stanek entered with one on and one out and promptly induced a tailor-made double play to erase the threat and preserve the Mets’ slim lead. Max Kranick then took the baton and breezed through the heart of the Dodgers' order, retiring the side in order in both the seventh and eighth innings with impressive poise and command. With the Mets clinging to a 3-1 lead in the ninth, Reed Garrett was summoned to close things out. After striking out Teoscar Hernández, Garrett worked around a Max Muncy single and a Andy Pages fielders choice and a stolen base, finishing things off by freezing Michael Conforto with a nasty splitter for the final out. In total, the trio combined for 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, no walks, and striking out two. It was a textbook bullpen performance calm, crisp, and clutch and it sealed a gritty, well-earned victory.

Juan Step at a Time

While Juan Soto is still searching for the swagger and shuffle that have defined his game, he quietly contributed in several key ways to help the Mets secure a win. Just days removed from a costly jog to first on a bobbled ball in the Subway Series, Soto clearly got the message. In the bottom of the first, he hustled down the line on a routine grounder to third; Max Muncy bobbled the play and recovered, but Soto’s hustle beat the thrown and he was sage on the error which extended the inning. Pete Alonso immediately made that hustle count with a two-run homer. In the third, Soto again turned on the jets after hitting a slow roller to second. Although the Dodgers got the force at second, Soto's hustle took away any chance at a double play, allowing Francisco Lindor to score from third another unheralded but valuable RBI. And in the seventh, Soto added to his night with a strong defensive play in right field, tracking down a Michael Conforto fly ball to help keep the Dodgers from getting the leadoff hitter on base. The stat sheet may not be loud, but the little things added up to a big impact.