David Peterson threw the most innings in a game by a Mets starter so far this season and his teammates delivered several big hits with runners in scoring position — including a key blow by Juan Soto — in a 5-2 win over the Dodgers on Saturday night at Citi Field.
The victory evened up the NLCS rematch, with the teams set for a rubber game in primetime on Sunday night. The Mets are now 31-21 overall, including an MLB-best 18-6 at home.
Here are the takeaways…
— Peterson is just the second Mets starter to throw at least seven innings in a game this season. The first was Kodai Senga, who threw seven shutout frames against the Athletics in Sacramento back on April 13. Peterson was particularly rough on the Dodgers’ brand-name hitters. He struck out the mighty Shohei Ohtani three times and got him on a flyout in his other at-bat.
Freddie Freeman was also 0-for-3 against Peterson, and Mookie Betts went 1-for-3 against the lefty. Freeman and Ohtani entered the game ranked first and second in the National League in both OPS and slugging percentage. Freeman also held the NL lead in batting average and on-base percentage. When Peterson came out of the game after fanning Ohtani for the second out of the eighth inning, most of the 41,332 fans in the stands stood up and gave him a loud ovation. He waved his glove toward the crowd as he neared the dugout.
— Down 2-1 in the fourth, the Mets took the lead, scoring three runs, and Soto had a tie-breaking two-run double. Luis Torrens led off the inning with a single and, two outs later, Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin walked both Brett Baty and Francisco Lindor on four pitches, loading the bases.
Starling Marte checked his swing and hit a soft grounder toward the middle, but the Dodgers couldn’t turn it into an out and a run scored. Soto followed with a 108.3 mph drive to the base of the right-center field wall, knocking in two runs. The inning ended when Marte was thrown out trying to score on Soto’s double.
— Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called on Edwin Díaz for a four-out save, and the closer caught Betts looking at strike three to end the eighth. In the ninth, he struck out Teoscar Hernández and Freeman, and got Andy Pages to ground out. Díaz is now 11-for-11 in save opportunities this season.
— The Mets were 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position, a refreshing change. They’ve struggled with runners in scoring position this season, though they had the 10th-most at-bats with RISP entering Saturday, indicating that they’ve been creating traffic on the basepaths.
But they entered play ranked 29th in MLB in batting average with RISP (.213), behind only the 16-35 White Sox. The Mets had been especially spotty lately, going 10-for-66 (.152) over their previous seven games.
— The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, thanks to soft contact against Peterson and, perhaps, a missed call by umpires. With one out, Pages flared a single in front of Soto in right and then Tommy Edman was hit by a pitch. Kiké Hernández hit a single up the middle to score Pages and send Edman to third. Dalton Rushing followed by hitting a ball into the ground that hit him in the shin and bounced into fair territory.
By rule, it could’ve been declared a foul ball by umpires, but it wasn’t called. Torrens sprang from behind the plate to field the ball and threw to first for the second out, but Edman scampered home. The play wasn’t reviewable, so Rushing got an RBI and the Dodgers had their second run.
— The Mets scored their first run of the game in the second, and with two outs. Jared Young, starting at designated hitter after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse, was hit by a pitch and Tyrone Taylor singled to left. Baty, whose offense has really picked up, then delivered an RBI single to right. In the eighth, Baty — batting ninth in the order — smacked an RBI double to push the Mets’ lead to 5-2.
— Apart from the key double, Soto smashed a deep drive to center in his first at-bat that traveled 396 feet and was clocked at 102.5 mph off the bat. According to MLB’s Statcast, the drive had an expected batting average of .790, but it was caught by Edman. In Soto’s second at-bat, he thought he had checked his swing on a 3-1 pitch and walked. But his cut was ruled a swing. He followed with a ground-ball single up the middle that was clocked at 102.2 mph. In the seventh inning, Soto flew out to left. In the eighth, he grounded out with the bases loaded.
Game MVP: David Peterson
Peterson, who gave up two runs and five hits across 7.2 innings, struck out seven and walked two. A night after the Mets used eight relievers in a messy and dramatic 13-inning loss, the left-hander was masterful in giving them crucial length. He induced four double-play grounders, which helped him get deep into the game. He threw 99 pitches (59 strikes) and lowered his season ERA to 2.79.
Highlights
Brett Baty with an RBI single to put the Mets on the board!
(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/Zf7N0pDt1B
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 24, 2025
Two-run double for Juan Soto gives the Mets the lead! 🔥
(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/maexTFopu6
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 25, 2025
Brett Baty again! An RBI double adds to the Mets lead!
Baty is 3 for 3 on the day with 2 RBI’s 🔥
(via @Mets) pic.twitter.com/TlWDVGcz91
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 25, 2025
What’s next
The Mets (31-21) will play the rubber game of their series against the Dodgers on Sunday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
Kodai Senga (4-3, 1.43 ERA) is slated to take the mound opposite Landon Knack (2-1, 6.17 ERA).
Read the full article here