LOS ANGELES — The Mets once hoped to have Sean Manaea and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the same rotation. Instead, the two faced off against one another Friday night at Dodger Stadium.
In the end, neither pitcher would receive a decision. Francisco Lindor hit a two-run homer off Daniel Hudson in the sixth inning to break a tie and put the Mets ahead for good in a 9-4 win over the Dodgers in the series opener, extending their winning streak to five games.
“I thought they had a really good approach,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “We were aggressive, fastball first pitches…
“Look, he’s pretty nasty.”
Yamamoto had much of what the Mets thought he would have. His fastball had velocity and run, his breaking pitches darted all over the place and he made the Mets swing and miss frequently — 18 times to be exact.
“He was gross,” Manaea said. “He throws hard and his splitters are deceiving. It was really cool to watch him tonight.”
Yamamoto struck out nine hitters, but the Mets managed to take four runs off him over six innings. His introduction to North America hasn’t been the smoothest, but it’s clear he has the stuff to succeed in the league.
The Mets (11-8) went up 4-0 on Yamamoto only to cede that lead to the Dodgers (12-10)
Chris Taylor’s two-run single off Reed Garrett (3-0) in the sixth inning tied the game at 4-4, but Lindor’s homer gave them a 6-4 lead and contributions from up and down the lineup helped them keep pressure on Los Angeles.
DJ Stewart went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, Harrison Bader had a four-hit night and drove in a run, and Starling Marte went 2-for-5 with two RBI, hitting a two-run single off Joe Kelly in the eighth to give the Mets some separation.
The runs allowed by Garrett were unearned, the result of two errors by Joey Wendle at third base. The Mets made three errors in the game but with the way things are going for them right now, they’re able to overcome their own mistakes and make opposing teams pay for theirs.
“It’s very gratifying,” Lindor said. “But picking Joey up today, that felt really good because he’s been there for us day in and day out. He makes the first error and makes the second error, and you could tell his demeanor was like, ‘Man,’ like he was letting us down. But everybody was there for him and pushing him to get the next one.”
Lindor’s home run came from the left side of the plate, which was encouraging since the switch-hitting shortstop has struggled to produce from that side. He’s gotten off to a slow start this season but the Mets haven’t been worried, knowing a night like this would come. When it finally did, he was elated rounding the bases, knowing he made good on their support and encouragement.
“You look in the dugout and everybody is wanting the at-bat, wanting to hit for each other,” Lindor said. “Whenever you have teammates and people pulling for you, whenever you have results like that, I tend to release more of my emotions.”
Manaea held the Dodgers to two earned runs on four hits over five innings, striking out three. Mendoza didn’t think he had his best stuff. Manaea didn’t think he had his best command. He walked three, which didn’t help his pitch count.
Still, he turned the ball over to Garrett with the Mets leading 4-2 after striking out Freddie Freeman on three pitches with runners on first and second.
“He’d been taking with the sliders all night, that fastball up was just trying to get it above the zone,” Manaea said. “He chased.”
The Mets pursued Yamamoto harder than just about any other free agent in recent history. Ultimately, Yamamoto chose the lure of palm trees, sunshine, few rain delays and the chance to play with another superstar from his home country, Shohei Ohtani.
Yamamoto might have changed the Mets’ fate if he had chosen New York over Los Angeles, but if this win shows anything it’s that one player isn’t going to win games for the Mets on his own.
Amazingly, the Amazins’ can beat a super team handily when they all contribute.
ALVAREZ INJURED
Catcher Francisco Alvarez left the game after the first inning with a thumb injury. In the bottom of the first, he sent a slow roller up the first base line and catcher Max Muncy overthrew Freeman at first base, allowing Alvarez to hustle to second. But he jammed his thumb on the slide. He stayed in the game after being looked at by trainers but by the time he reached the dugout, he couldn’t squeeze the glove.
Alvarez was taken for imaging during the game. The Mets did not have results at press time.
“I’m pretty concerned, I’m not going to lie,” Mendoza said. “He’s getting an MRI right now, but he was in pain.”
