Mets takeaways: Bad defense leads to split with Dodgers, Francisco Lindor's toe

New York Times

3 days ago

LOS ANGELES — For most of their four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets played well — well enough to win at least three games, if not all four. That changed dramatically in the eighth inning Thursday when third baseman Brett Baty made a costly error. But there were other rough spots during the game, which they lost 6-5 despite holding a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
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That is why the Mets left Dodger Stadium feeling unsatisfied about a series split on the road against the defending World Series champion.
'We ended up splitting the series, but it felt like we gave that one away,' Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. 'We were sloppy today. We didn't play well.'
Here are three takeaways from the final game of the series.
Just one run decided the outcome in three of the four games. The Mets have proved this season that they can hang with the Dodgers. But they need to clean up their defense to take things to the next level.
Their defense, particularly in the infield, is dicey when there's traffic on the bases against a tough team with the score tight. It cost them a couple of weeks ago at Yankee Stadium. It hurt them again in L.A.
With one out in the eighth inning and catcher Will Smith the runner on third base, Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages hit a dribbler to Baty. Baty said Smith did not get a great jump. Still, Smith broke for home plate. Upon fielding the ball, Baty did not immediately throw home. Instead, Baty double-clutched as if trying to fake out Smith. Then Baty made a bad, low throw home that catcher Francisco Alvarez couldn't reel in. The ball got by Alvarez. Pitcher Reed Garrett backed the play up and recovered the ball, but Alvarez was too close in front of him trying to locate the ball himself. Pages scored to tie the score at 5.
It's a new ballgame for the Mets here in Los Angeles, as the Dodgers tie things on, uh… this: pic.twitter.com/0Q2xZn4eE0
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) June 5, 2025
'Just didn't make a routine play there,' Mendoza said.
Baty said he thought Smith may have tried to return to third base on the play and get in a rundown. Either way, though, Smith was already far enough down the line. Mendoza said the play calls for Baty to give the ball up and throw home. Baty called it a 'terrible play.'
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'It's just a very, very dumb mistake,' Baty said. 'It can't happen in that situation.'
A few weeks ago, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns pointed to the club's inconsistent defense as a surprise so far this season. On Tuesday, left fielder Brandon Nimmo failed to make a catch on a tough ball with some funky spin off Freddie Freeman's bat on the last play of the game. It was a tough play. Thursday's blunder was not as excusable.
Despite suffering a broken pinkie toe after Tony Gonsolin struck him with an 89 mph slider Wednesday night, Francisco Lindor lobbied to start Thursday's game. Mendoza told him no. So by the first pitch, Lindor, with a pack of sunflower seeds in hand, pulled up next to Mendoza in the dugout and just watched.
Still, Mendoza referred to Lindor's diagnosis as relatively good news. A trip to the injured list was not on the table, Mendoza said before Thursday's game. It's just a matter of tolerating the pain, Lindor said. He described it as painful and something he will have to deal with, even when he becomes available to play. He labeled himself as merely day to day.
'I think it's going to be a nagging thing,' Lindor said. 'It's a bone; it's a broken bone. I think it takes six weeks for a bone to be fully healed. Three years ago, I did my finger here, and it still hurts at times. It's part of relying on your body. As professional athletes, that's stuff we go through. This is what God wanted this week, and we'll deal with that. It could have been worse.'
For as long as Lindor is out, Luisangel Acuña figures to start at shortstop in his place. Acuña batted ninth and went 1-for-5 with a single in the fifth inning.
It was just one game, but the Mets missed Lindor's on-field presence.
He was unavailable Thursday to pinch hit, Mendoza said.
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The Mets left 13 runners on base. In the sixth inning, Smith picked off Starling Marte at third base, though Mendoza accepted the blame for the mistake, saying he wanted to be aggressive with Marte set to run on contact. The Mets had plenty of other chances and failed to cash in, especially against Dodgers starter Landon Knack, who was not good (3 1/3 innings, four hits, four runs, five walks, one strikeout). The Mets went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, with Jeff McNeil failing to come through three times in the situation and Alvarez going 0-for-2 in the spot.
New York wasted another strong outing from David Peterson, who pitched seven innings and allowed three runs.
Mendoza pointed out the Mets' at-bats with runners on base as another reason why he referred to the game as 'sloppy.'
'I just felt like it was a game that got away from us,' Mendoza said.
Pete Alonso provided a bright spot Thursday: He went 3-for-4 with a home run and provided the Mets' lone RBI with runners in scoring position. After the Dodgers opted to intentionally walk Juan Soto to put runners on first and second with one out in the eighth inning, Alonso hit a single.
Alonso's OPS is back up to a sizzling .973 with 15 home runs.
Through five games in June, Alonso has four home runs.
The key takeaway here is Alonso's ability to keep a slump at a minimum. After starting the season looking like the league's best hitter with improved discipline, Alonso recently stumbled. Over a 15-game stretch from May 6 to May 23, he went 9-for-59 (.153 batting average) with 25 strikeouts and just four walks. He is going to slump, just as all hitters do. But if Alonso is really in store for the big season that his March/April promised, it's going to come down to him being able to stop a slide from becoming a prolonged cold stretch — something of a bugaboo for him in previous seasons.
(Photo of Reed Garrett after giving up the tying run during the eighth inning: Jason Parkhurst / Imagn Images)