Mets Get Their Doors Blown Off In Series Finale To Get Swept Away By Dodgers

After showing up in the first two games, which ended in tight extra-inning losses, the Mets got blown out by the Dodgers in the series finale to get swept away to begin their brutal 13-game stretch.

Despite showing promise in the first two games of the series against the Dodgers, the Mets did not have the same luck in the finale, getting their doors blown off by a score of 14-4

The Dodgers chased starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco from the game after just two innings, and cranked a total of five home runs in this contest in a route of the Mets.

After getting swept by the Phillies last weekend, before bouncing back to sweep the Nationals, the Mets began their brutal 13-game stretch by getting swept by the Dodgers.

They have now lost three in a row and are 59-58 on the season, which has seen them drop to 2.5 games back of the Braves in the NL East, as well as a half game behind the Phillies.

Carrasco was battered around early, giving up six runs across two innings. Justin Turner took him deep to center for a two-run homer in the first, as did Will Smith (third of the series, solo shot) to put the Dodgers up 3-0.

Then in the second, Trea Turner knocked in a run on a double, and Max Muncy crushed a two-run bomb to extend the Dodgers' lead to 6-0.

The Mets surprisingly had Carrasco bat for himself with two runners on in the bottom of the second, but opted to pull him before the start of the third to end his disappointing night. The right-hander now has a 10.32 ERA in four starts for the Mets this season.

On the other side. old friend Max Scherzer shutdown the Mets across six innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out seven and walking two. 

The Amazins' went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position tonight and 2-for-29 in the series, which pretty much tells the whole story.

"We got to get the hitting going once again," said manager Luis Rojas after the game. "We had chances, put some runners on, we just didn't finish....The hitting has got to show up."

"We weren't good with runners in scoring position and we need to be better in those situations."

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Mets tied the longest stretch in MLB this season without a hit with runners in scoring position, which they previously set on July 16 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As for the Dodgers, they capitalized by busting the game wide open with six more runs off the Mets' bullpen on their way to a laugher on Sunday evening.

Facing the Mets for the first time since leaving the NL East, Scherzer held them scoreless through the first two innings, albeit dealing with traffic on the bases.

The Mets got their first run against Scherzer in the bottom of the third on Jeff McNeil's RBI groundout. But they had a chance to do a lot more damage after having second-and-third with nobody out and could not come through.

After Carrasco faltered, relief pitcher Jake Reed made his Mets debut and tossed three impressive scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Mets loaded the bases against Scherzer with one out, but only got one run on Michael Conforto's RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 6-2.

Following a strong debut from Reed, Yennsy Diaz handled the top of the sixth. And that's when former Met Billy McKinney cranked a one-out triple to right field, and Scherzer helped himself out with a sac-fly for the Dodgers' seventh run of the night. But they weren't finished yet, as Muncy's second, two-run home run of the night put his team up 9-2.

The Mets tacked on two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a wild pitch and a sacrifice-fly to cut it closer at 9-4. But J.D. Davis just missed a grand slam that would have gotten them back in the game.

The Dodgers answered back with three runs of their own in the top of the eighth off of Geoff Hartlieb to create additional breathing room. 

And of course, Dodgers' catcher Will Smith smacked a two-run single in this inning. Smith killed the Mets in this series with three homers and six RBIs. His two-run homer on Friday lifted the Dodgers to a win in 10 innings, while his long ball on Saturday tied the game and broke up Taijuan Walker's no-hitter.

Position player Brandon Drury pitched the ninth with the Mets down by eight runs. And after getting the first two men out, Drury gave up a two-run homer, as the Dodgers continued to pile it on at 14-4.

After Los Angeles loaded the bases with two outs, Kevin Pillar came in to relieve Drury and luckily got an inning-ending fly out.

With tonight's loss, the Mets have gone 12-18 since the All-Star break after posting a 47-40 record in the first-half.

Due to MLB's decision to flex the Mets-Dodgers series finale to ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, the Mets now have to travel to the west coast to face the first-place San Francisco Giants for a three-game set beginning tomorrow night.

"It's a tough series not to get a win out of it, but we have to turn the page quick," said Rojas. "We got to get on a roll because we are going to see these guys again after the Giants."