LOS ANGELES — Nolan McLean had a tough night on Tuesday, going up against another top pitcher while the Mets’ offense just couldn’t get going.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto kept pace with McLean, and an RBI single by Brooks Lally in the eighth along with a hit by Kyle Tucker sealed the Mets’ fate, losing 2-1 to the Dodgers. This marked their seventh consecutive loss.
Tucker, an offseason target for the Mets, made his presence felt with a hit to left field after a walk to pinch hitter Miguel Rojas in the eighth.
McLean delivered a solid performance, pitching seven innings with just one earned run, two hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts, which improved his ERA to 2.28.
Overall, the game saw a mere seven hits, four belonging to the Mets, who have struggled to score, managing just one run in their last three games.
Francisco Lindor kicked things off with a home run, giving the Mets their only run of the night and snapping their 20-inning scoring drought. He took advantage of a fastball, launching it over the right-field fence for his first lead-off home run of the season.
Before the game, coach Carlos Mendoza noted he wasn’t thinking about dropping Lindor from the lead-off position, despite his recent struggles.
Freddie Freeman responded in the first inning, grounding out to even the score at 1-1.
McLean walked Tucker, which sparked a rally, and a double from Will Smith allowed Tucker to reach second and third base with one out. Freeman managed to collect his 14th RBI of the season then. McLean managed to strike out Teoscar Hernandez to finish the inning.
No more runners threatened until McLean walked Kim Hye-sung with two outs in the fifth. An ill-timed pickoff attempt allowed Kim to advance to second, but the inning ended with McLean cooling down the situation.
In his third time through the lineup, McLean quickly dispatched Ohtani and Tucker to start the sixth.
Yamamoto was sharp, not allowing multiple hits until the seventh when Bo Bichette got a two-out double. Francisco Alvarez, moved up in the lineup, chose to take a walk, but Brett Batty struck out to end the inning. This was a crucial moment as it was Yamamoto’s 94th pitch, but things weren’t over yet.
McLean struck out Freeman and Hernandez, keeping the momentum, but eventually surrendered a single to Max Muncy that gave the Dodgers their second run. Fortunately, he rebounded, striking out Andy Pages with a well-placed changeup.
Yamamoto returned for the eighth, forcing a weak hit from Mark Vientos. Marcus Semien nearly got one on the left warning track, but it was caught.
Benji then hit a single, followed by Lindor, who moved to third after stealing second base before Luis Robert Jr. faced a strikeout to finish the inning.
In the eighth, after Tucker hit an RBI homer to put the Dodgers ahead 2-1, Mets left-handed pitcher Alex Beshear, stepping in for the injured Edwin Diaz, was ejected.
