NEW YORK -- It was back in the second inning that something approximating a dream scenario unfolded for the Mets at Citi Field: bases loaded, Francisco Lindor at the plate, a loopy curveball on its way out of Walker Buehler’s hand. These days, that sort of situation tends to result in runs for the Mets.

But in National League Championship Series Game 3, Lindor swung through the pitch to end the inning.

For once, the vaunted top of New York’s batting order didn’t do much of anything in an 8-0 loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday, which begs the question of whether the bottom half should be doing more to support it.

To be fair, neither half of the Mets’ lineup mustered much production as the Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series. Blame some of it on the chilliest game the Mets have played in Queens since at least May, featuring temperatures that sat in the low 50s and winds that gusted from left to right field. Lindor, Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos all hit balls that, on a mid-August night, would have had a real chance to end up in the seats.

But October baseball is challenging for a reason. The teams that fare the best are the ones that can adapt.

Facing an opposing starter in Buehler who had struggled all season, the Mets applied a decent amount of early pressure. Yet their second-inning threat, which ended when Lindor swung through a 3-2 knuckle curve, wound up being their best of the game. The Dodgers, meanwhile, scored two off Luis Severino (both unearned, the product of some sloppy second-inning defense), two off Reed Garrett in the sixth, three on a monstrous Shohei Ohtani homer off Tylor Megill in the eighth, and one more on a Max Muncy homer off Megill in the ninth.