NEW YORK – Pete Alonso is slumping at the wrong time for the New York Mets.
And with little margin for error, their two most reliable relievers let a game get away Sunday night that might prove too much to overcome.
Jedd Gyorko got off the bench late and played a big role in rallying the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-2 victory that damaged the Mets’ dwindling playoff chances. They dropped four games behind the Cubs for the second NL wild card with 13 to go. Milwaukee trails Chicago by just one game.
New York visits also-rans Colorado and Cincinnati on its final road trip this week before hosting last-place Miami and NL East-leading Atlanta to finish the season.
“We’ve got a lot of fight on this team, so I wouldn’t count us out yet,” pitcher Zack Wheeler said.
Gyorko scored the tying run in the eighth inning on Chris Taylor’s double and hit an RBI single off Seth Lugo (6-4) with two outs in the ninth to put the NL West champions in front.
Los Angeles moved four games ahead of the Braves for the best record in the National League with 11 to play and closed within one game of the New York Yankees for the top mark in the majors.
“Our depth is really good,” Gyorko said. “A lot of guys that we can rely on in situations, and our depth was proven tonight.”
Brandon Nimmo laced an early two-run triple for the Mets, who managed only three hits and wasted an excellent performance from Wheeler.
Alonso, the rookie slugger tied for the major league lead with 47 homers, went 0 for 4 and is hitless in a career-worst 20 consecutive at-bats. He and teammates Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto combined to go 0 for 25 in the three-game series.
“It’s been a tough go, but I feel fine,” Alonso said. “Just haven’t been necessarily capitalizing on some pitches and I need to do a better job at that.”
Scuffling closer Kenley Jansen (5-3) worked a perfect eighth. Kenta Maeda got two outs for his fifth career save and second this season.
Jansen said he’d been “dragging” his arm too much but has figured out the mechanical flaw that was troubling him.
“The needle’s moved in the right direction,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s peaking, I think, at the right time.”
Dodgers All-Star Walker Buehler was pulled after 71 sharp pitches in an abbreviated October tuneup. He permitted two hits over five innings and retired his final 11 batters following Nimmo’s triple.
Wheeler pitched seven outstanding innings for the Mets, and Justin Wilson was summoned to protect a 2-1 lead in the eighth. But the left-hander, who saved Saturday’s win with a perfect ninth and had a 1.40 ERA since coming off the injured list July 2, was out of sorts.
He issued a leadoff walk to Gyorko, who was pinch-hitting, and balked him to second when he caught a cleat on the mound. An up-and-in wild pitch that sent Max Muncy sprawling to the ground moved Gyorko to third, and he scored on Taylor’s one-out double off the right-center wall.
“Zack pitched amazing tonight,” Wilson said. “Sadly, I couldn’t hold the lead for him.”
Mets nemesis Corey Seager shaved it to 2-1 with a two-out RBI single off Wheeler in the fourth. Muncy scored with a good slide on a close play at the plate.
In Other Games
Red Sox 6, Phillies 3
Blue Jays 6, Yankees 4
Orioles 8, Tigers 2
Indians 7, Twins 5
Nationals 7, Braves 0
Brewers 7, Cardinals 6
Astros 12, Royals 3
Cubs 16, Pirates 6
Athletics 6, Rangers 1
Rockies 10, Padres 5
Giants 2, Marlins 1
Angels 6, Rays 4
Mariners 11, White Sox 10
Reds 3, Diamondbacks 1
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times