Mets’ late-inning bullpen struggles continue as Dodgers secure three-game series sweep

The Mets suffered their third straight loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, falling 10-3 in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field.

Here are some takeaways…

– Shortly after placing struggling closer Edwin Diaz on the injured list with a right shoulder injury, the Mets suffered another big blow, as Pete Alonso was forced out of the game after being hit on the right hand by a James Paxton 93 mph fastball in the bottom of the first. Brett Baty entered in his place as a pinch runner and played the hot corner with Mark Vientos sliding over to first.

– After dominating during his six minor league rehab appearances, David Peterson had a bit of an up-and-down regular season debut. The southpaw did well to limit the damage as he allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits while walking one and striking out two on 86 pitches across five innings of work.

– Stretching back to Francisco Lindor‘s homer in Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, New York went 20 consecutive innings without scoring a run before Tomas Nido finally broke the ice with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth. Lindor followed that up with a walk, and after he advanced to second on a Baty groundout, J.D. Martinez evened things up with a double against his former team.

– But on the day they lost their closer, the Mets’ late-inning bullpen struggles were the story again, as Will Smith cracked a hanging Adam Ottavino slider over the left field fence for a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth. The right-hander went on to allow another run as the next three batters reached on a walk and two hits before he was pulled.

Jorge Lopez entered and allowed the inherited runners to score, and two more on a Shohei Ohtani homer, putting this one away for good. Ohtani was held in check during Game 1 of the doubleheader, but he broke through this afternoon with a pair of hits and three RBI. Lopez was ejected with two outs after barking at third base ump Ramon De Jesus following a non-check swing call on Freddie Freeman.

MVP of the Game: Will Smith

Have yourself a series Smitty.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air scored three runs on the afternoon and he finished with a double and a pair of solo homers, giving him three long balls over the three-game set.

Highlights

Upcoming schedule

The Mets close their homestand with a four-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks starting on Thursday at 7:10 p.m.

Christian Scott (0-2, 3.97 ERA) takes the ball for New York still looking for his first career victory against ace right-hander Zac Gallen (5-4, 3.12 ERA).