NEW YORK — With the biggest crowd of the year rallying behind them — 38,395 fans screaming, shouting and clapping in their seats — the Mets played hard and inspired against the Dodgers to show their fan base that these next two weeks have immense potential to be anything but boring.
Despite their best efforts, which included a four-run, game-tying rally in the seventh inning, the Mets lost to the Dodgers, 6-5, in extra innings Friday at Citi Field. Jeurys Familia gave up a two-run home run to Will Smith to lead off the 10th inning, with the ghost runner on second base serving as the insurance run.
The final result in the loss column will sting for the Mets following their four-hour series opener against Los Angeles. But their performance showed the defending world champions that these games will not be easy. If the Mets can compete like they did on Friday night for their next six matchups in nine days against the Dodgers, hope remains for one of the toughest stretches in their schedule.
The evening began less optimistically for the Mets offense when Dominic Smith, Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil were left out of the starting lineup against left-hander Julio Urias. The Mets, as they have done so often this season, opted to stack the lineup with righties, like Albert Almora and Kevin Pillar, who are hitting a combined .195 this year. The organization’s strategy struck out, and the action only started once Smith, Conforto and McNeil all entered the game through pinch-hit at-bats.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Mets batted around and rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to erase their four-run deficit and tie the game. Conforto sparked the rally with a two-out double, and he scored moments later on Smith’s RBI bloop single to center. To further drive the point home from the never-should-have-been-benched trio, McNeil collected a two-run single to bring the Mets within one run. The comeback was completed when Pete Alonso sprinted home from third on a passed ball.
Edwin Diaz kept the Dodgers off the board with a shutdown ninth inning that included an unusual gripe from first baseman Max Muncy. With the go-ahead run on second base and two outs, Muncy asked umpires to pause the game because a fan in left field was pointing a green laser on his eyes and impacting his sight. After a few moments of confusion on the field, the situation was resolved and Diaz returned to strike out Muncy on three pitches to end the inning unscathed.
