Pete Alonso ended his longest career home run drought with a two-run shot in the first inning, and the New York Mets took advantage of defensive errors by the Los Angeles Dodgers to secure a 3-1 win on Sunday night at Citi Field. The victory gave the Mets a series win in their first home meeting against Los Angeles since last year’s National League Championship Series.
Entering the matchup, the Dodgers were slight road favorites on the betting line, listed at approximately -120. The Mets were home underdogs at around +100. The over-under for total runs was set at 8, which remained under as both teams combined for just four runs.
Shohei Ohtani opened the game with a solo home run off Mets starter Kodai Senga, marking his latest step forward as he continues his rehabilitation process. Earlier in the day, Ohtani threw 22 pitches in live batting practice, an important milestone in his recovery from elbow surgery. His home run in the top of the first gave the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead and ended Senga’s streak of 202 batters and eight starts without allowing a home run.
That lead was short-lived. In the bottom half of the inning, the Dodgers’ defensive struggles began when third baseman Max Muncy mishandled a two-out grounder from Juan Soto, allowing him to reach base. Alonso followed by driving the next pitch from Dodgers starter Landon Knack over the left-field wall for his 10th home run of the season and 236th of his career. The home run snapped a 16-game, 65-at-bat drought for Alonso, the longest of his career.
The Mets added a third run in the fourth inning. Soto hit a slow ground ball to shortstop with the bases loaded that was mishandled, allowing another run to score. The Dodgers committed a season-high four errors in total, two of which directly contributed to all three Mets runs.
Senga improved to 5-3 after allowing one run over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked four while scattering five hits. His most critical moment came in the fifth, when he induced an inning-ending groundout from Dodgers catcher Will Smith with the bases loaded.
New York’s bullpen held firm the rest of the way. Ryne Stanek ended the sixth with a double play. Max Kranick retired all six batters he faced across the seventh and eighth innings, and Reed Garrett earned his first save of the season and fifth of his major league career with a scoreless ninth.
Landon Knack took the loss for Los Angeles despite a strong performance. The right-hander allowed just one earned run and four hits over six innings. He struck out five and did not walk a batter, retiring 11 consecutive hitters during one stretch.
Defensive highlights included a key double play in the first inning, when Mets center fielder Tyrone Taylor made a running catch on a shallow fly ball and threw out Mookie Betts at home. The initial safe call was overturned following a video review.
With the win, New York improved to 19-6 at Citi Field, the best home record in Major League Baseball. The Mets will open a three-game series Monday against the Chicago White Sox with Clay Holmes starting. The Dodgers travel to Cleveland, where Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to face Gavin Williams in the series opener.
