LOS ANGELES — Day after day, the surging Mets are continuing to make it feel like it’s a long way from the travesty that was 2023.
And suddenly, this alleged transition year carries the potential to become tremendous.
There’s a new hero, a better storyline and more excitement every game. The magical Mets ran their surprise winning streak to six games after beating the Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts Dodgers, 6-4, on Saturday afternoon.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza continues to make all the right moves, too. Mendoza employed star closer Edwin Diaz to navigate the heart of the Dodgers order and quell an eighth-inning rally, then utilized out-of-nowhere bullpen star Reed Garrett to close things out, saving the latest win by striking out the side in the ninth.
“I thought the game was there,” Mendoza said in explaining why Diaz pitched the eighth.
A “Let’s Go Mets!” chant broke out here late, and player excitement reverberated throughout the bowels of beautiful Dodger Stadium afterward. Chants and cheers were heard from a Mets clubhouse turned LA club.
A rejuvenated, healthier Starling Marte was the star of the day, with his game-winning three-run homer. But the 31-year-old heretofore unknown journeyman Garrett is what got them going later.
“We were all excited. We were celebrating Reed’s first save,” Mets star Brandon Nimmo said of the clubhouse cacophony. “We’re definitely proud of him.”
The Mets have a lot to be proud of after moving to 12-8, and what’s more, every team they have played so far — yes, 20-for-20 — carried a winning record into Saturday’s games. So they aren’t exactly beating up on patsies.
No one would accuse the vaunted Dodgers of being a cupcake, of course, but the Mets are catching a bit of a break by playing them at the right time. Not only do they have a rotation of pitchers ranging from an all-time great (Clayton Kershaw) to a young hot shot (Bobby Miller) on the injured list, they are in the midst of a tailspin that started about a week before the Mets arrived here.
after the Mets’ victory. Getty Images
The Dodgers’ lineup, long conceded to be baseball’s best, is showing significant weakness. Chris Taylor (a stunning 1-for-35) and Gavin Lux look like almost automatic outs, and even the great Freddie Freeman has been less than great in recent days.
The Cooperstown-bound tandem atop the Dodgers lineup of Betts and Ohtani can’t quite do it alone, it turns out. They reached base eight times (four times apiece) but need some more help.
Speaking of help, the Mets are getting significant aid from just about everywhere now that backup catcher Tomas Nido arrived from the minors — just after the start of the game, around 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, as it turned out. Nido, now here to back up Omar Narvaez with Francisco Alvarez out six to eight weeks after injuring his thumb Friday, entered late after a 6 a.m. flight from Charlotte, a layover in Atlanta, a two-hour delay and an hour and a half of L.A. traffic (that’s good for here).
Marte was the man of the hour, and he’s obviously closer to full strength and back on his estimable game. It was his three-run home run off Dodgers reliever Ryan Brasier that broke a 2-all tie in the sixth inning.
“We all know what he’s capable of,” Nimmo said of Marte. “He’s a game-changer.”
Marte’s improvement is stark, but he is far from alone on a team that seems transformed.
Harrison Bader, who came for defense, is hitting .306.
Another former Yankee, Luis Severino, who called himself the “worst pitcher in baseball last year,” is among the better ones now.
Saturday’s starter, Jose Butto, who didn’t quite make the team in spring, gutted out 4 ¹/₃ innings and continues to contribute.
But no one can match Garrett as a surprise star. He leads all big-league relievers in strikeouts after starting the season in Syracuse, and was understandably emotional after earning his first career save on three straight whiffs at age 31.
Garrett indicated he was practically speechless. Then he said just the right thing.
“I don’t have words for it,” Garrett said. “It’s incredible.”
The Mets are benefiting from these surprises, as well as a few breaks here and there. Betts deserves our praise for attempting to play shortstop but he made an error for a second straight day and looks very much a work in progress.
And Dodgers second-year player James Outman killed a potential rally in the seventh inning when he was called out for interference following a rolling body block at second base on a forceout play on a groundout by rookie Andy Pages.
The Dodgers’ crowd, falsely accused of being laid back, booed lustily. The crowd also booed the home team a few times, as it isn’t living up to its billing yet.
The Dodgers certainly do not look like a team that was predicted by Las Vegas to win 103/104 games. But at least for now, the Mets look even less like the team they were expected to be.
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