L.A. a Mets obstacle: 'This is a big challenge'

LOS ANGELES -- The old adage is that to be the best, teams must beat the best.

The Mets have struggled mightily with the latter part of that cliché, particularly when it comes to vanquishing the reigning World Series champions. In dropping their series opener, 4-1, at Chavez Ravine on Thursday night, the Mets lost to the Dodgers for the 22nd time in their past 26 meetings.

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That would be a problem in any context. It’s a significant problem for the 2021 Mets, who have been unable to escape their sharp downward spiral in large part because of their inability to beat Los Angeles. Their latest loss was their fourth to the Dodgers over the past week -- a stretch that has included six total losses in seven games. The Mets have dropped 10 of their past 14 overall, and 15 of their past 21 to fall a season-high five games out of first place.

Not all of those have come against the Dodgers, but enough of them have that it’s becoming a disturbing trend.

“These things can build up sometimes and can destroy a team,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said. “That’s where leaders of the group -- myself -- have to come in and make sure that doesn’t happen. This is a big challenge that we’re going through right now, and we’ve got to do this together.”

It’s not as if the Dodgers did anything unusual in defeating the Mets in the series opener; they simply relied on steady pressure against starting pitcher Taijuan Walker, who limited the damage to four runs in six innings. The Mets had no answers despite facing seven different pitchers -- including traditional reliever Corey Knebel as an opener -- in a planned bullpen game.

New York scored its only run on J.D. Davis’ RBI double in the fourth inning. Davis was promptly doubled off second base when he ran on contact on a Dominic Smith liner.

“We’re still confident,” Davis said afterward. “We’re just right there.”

Entering the night, Thursday seemed the most winnable contest of this four-game series, considering the Mets will oppose Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer and David Price (combined Cy Young Awards: four) over the next three days. But Davis contradicted that notion, citing the nastiness of Los Angeles’ bullpen and the difficulty of facing a different pitcher -- often one who entered the game with specific matchups in mind -- in each at-bat. While not every team can pull off a successful bullpen game, the Dodgers can.

“That’s the challenge, right?” Rojas said. “They have great stuff. They have pitchability. They’ve pitched in big games, so you expect they’re going to execute the plan against us.”

Consider that just one issue the Mets have faced when opposing the Dodgers over the years. If it’s not the bullpen, it’s the top-ranked rotation. If it’s not the rotation, it’s a lineup so deep that it features former National League MVP Cody Bellinger batting eighth.

“You can’t take any pitches off,” Walker said. “Every single pitch, you have to be focused, and it has to be aggressive. It has to have intent behind it."

Making matters worse for the Mets, their inability to beat non-contenders consistently in recent weeks has made this current stretch -- New York’s most difficult of the year on paper -- all the more daunting. The Mets can’t afford to lose ground or even tread water much longer. Instead, they must do more than hold their own against teams like the Dodgers if they wish to climb back into the race.

Simply put, the Mets need these games, no matter how good the opponent they’re facing might be.

“I know it’s been tough,” Walker said. “We’re playing some really, really good teams right now. It’s frustrating for us. We want to go out there and win ballgames, and we’re just not doing it.”