Mets lose a sixth straight game, falling to the Dodgers without scoring.

LOS ANGELES — Mets Struggle Again Against Dodgers

On Monday night, the Mets’ batting lineup faced yet another disappointing performance, trending further downhill from weak to just plain bad.

Though they avoided a no-hitter, it was a close call. Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski displayed dominance over this struggling team.

The Mets only managed three singles, resulting in a 4–0 loss at Dodger Stadium and marking their sixth consecutive defeat. They’ve now been shut out in back-to-back games and have gone scoreless for 20 straight innings.

Wrobleski gave up just singles to Jorge Polanco and Francisco Alvarez until the eighth inning, with Marcus Semien finally getting a hit in the ninth. They couldn’t even advance a runner into scoring position.

This dismal showing comes on the heels of a homestand that ended with five straight losses, during which the Mets averaged a mere 1.8 runs against the Diamondbacks and Athletics.

Some of the stats are hard to ignore: a .658 OPS places them at 23rd in the league. They also rank 23rd in on-base percentage at .305 and 24th in slugging at .353.

In simple terms, this is not what was expected from a batting lineup that Director of Baseball Operations David Stearns revamped this winter to rely less on home runs and become more athletic.

Juan Soto is currently on the disabled list with a strained right calf muscle, sidelining him unexpectedly. Just a week ago, it seemed like he might be fine after the Mets returned from a successful weekend in San Francisco, where they had a three-game winning streak.

David Peterson struggled again, allowing five hits, four walks, seven strikeouts, and four earned runs over five innings. This left-hander has a 6.41 ERA this season but hasn’t pitched into the sixth inning yet.

In the first inning, Peterson gave up an RBI hit to Will Smith, loaded the bases with no outs, and things looked dire. A visit from pitching coach Justin Willard seemed to help for a moment, as he struck out Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages, and Max Muncy in quick succession. However, problems resurfaced when he hit Shohei Ohtani and walked Kyle Tucker.

After a solid second inning, Peterson faltered again in the third. Pages hit a three-run home run that pushed the Dodgers ahead 4-0. Following two walks in the first inning, Peterson mistakenly placed a breaking ball right over the plate for Pages, who capitalized on it.

With one out in the fifth, Polanco managed a single. However, that glimmer of hope faded quickly as Alvarez hit into an inning-ending double play right after.

Peterson eventually escaped danger in the fifth, fanning Muncy after already having allowed Hernandez to double and Freeman to single and triple earlier.

In the sixth inning, Craig Kimbrel faced a single from Miguel Rojas, who attempted to steal second but was caught by Alvarez. Kimbrel ended the inning without allowing a run.