LOS ANGELES — Nolan McLean’s misfortune Tuesday night was facing a fellow Cy Young-level pitcher without much offensive support, as the Mets lineup struggles.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto matched McLean jab for jab before Brooks Raley dented in the eighth, allowing an RBI single to Kyle Tucker that sent the Mets to their seventh straight loss, 2-1 to the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.
Tucker, whom the Mets pursued last winter in free agency before he landed in Hollywood on a $240 million contract over four years, delivered a bloop to left for the go-ahead hit after Raley had walked pinch hitter Miguel Rojas to begin the inning.
McLean pitched a gem, allowing one earned run on two hits with two walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.28.
The game had only seven hits, four of which belonged to the Mets (who have one run total to show for their past three games).
Francisco Lindor’s homer leading off the game gave the Mets their only run on a night Yamamoto dominated over 7 ²/₃ innings, with seven strikeouts and one walk.
The Mets were overmatched by lefty Justin Wrobleski, who fired eight shutout innings a day earlier. They won’t get a reprieve in Wednesday’s series finale with Shohei Ohtani scheduled to start for the Dodgers.
“They are good, but we’re good too,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We have got to get back to attacking, so you can’t give them too much credit. We have got to trust who we are. We have got good players here and we have just got to go out there and do it and execute.”
Lindor’s first homer and RBI this season gave the Mets a 1-0 lead only three pitches into the game, ending the team’s scoring drought at 20 innings. Lindor jumped on a 95 mph fastball and cleared the right field fence for his 32nd career leadoff homer.
Before the game, Mendoza indicated that moving the slumping Lindor from the leadoff spot wasn’t a consideration.
Freddie Freeman’s RBI groundout in the bottom of the first tied it 1-1.
McLean walked Tucker to begin the rally and Will Smith’s sinking line-drive double that just eluded Carson Benge’s grasp in left field put runners on second and third with one out before Freeman drove in his 14th run this season. McLean kept the go-ahead run at third base by striking out Teoscar Hernández to end the inning.
Neither team had another base runner until McLean walked Hyeseong Kim with two outs in the fifth. McLean’s errant pickoff attempt on Kim moved him to second before Alex Freeland was retired to end the threat.
McLean showed no sign of fading as he worked the third time through the batting order. He quickly retired Ohtani and Tucker to begin the sixth before getting Smith to pop out on a full-count fastball.
Yamamoto didn’t allow his second hit until the seventh, when Bo Bichette stroked a two-out double. Francisco Alvarez, elevated to the fifth spot in the batting order, walked. But Brett Baty was overmatched by Yamamoto’s 1-2 splitter, striking out to end the inning. It was Yamamoto’s 94th pitch, but he wasn’t finished.
McLean struck out Freeman and Hernández on six pitches to begin the bottom of the inning before Max Muncy’s single to left gave the Dodgers their second hit. McLean recovered to strike out Andy Pages swinging on a 1-2 changeup.
Yamamoto returned to the mound for the eighth and retired Mark Vientos on a weak comebacker before Marcus Semien hit a drive to the warning track in left that was caught.
Benge singled to left and Lindor’s ensuing single to right moved the go-ahead run to third base, ending Yamamoto’s night at 104 pitches. After Lindor stole second, Luis Robert Jr. was caught looking at Strike 3 on Blake Treinen’s full-count sweeper to end the inning.
After Tucker’s RBI single against Raley gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the eighth, the Mets were retired in order by lefty Alex Vesia, who subbed for hurting Edwin Díaz in the closer’s role.
