Another frustrating loss for Mets as they fall to Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — This time, at least, the Mets had a built-in excuse why they didn’t score.

Blame it on Walker Buehler, a leading candidate for the National League Cy Young Award, who cruised for 7 2⁄3 innings in the Mets’ 3-2 loss to the Dodgers on Friday night. He gave up two runs and six hits, walking none and striking out eight.

Buehler lifted his record to 13-2. Combine his best-in-the-majors 2.11 ERA with the Mets’ offensive futility, and what happens is the latest heartbreaker in a series of them.

J.D. Davis struck out looking against reliever Alex Vesia to leave the bases loaded in the eighth inning.

The Mets’ freefall now includes losses in 16 of their past 22 games. They are 60-62 and trail Atlanta by six games in the NL East . . . after holding a five-game lead after the games of July 28.

"Overall, I thought we played really good baseball tonight," manager Luis Rojas said. "We just didn’t score enough runs."

Said Mets starter Carlos Carrasco: "They played hard. It was a really good game, [one-run] game. They should feel happy about that."

And Michael Conforto: "It’s not productive to come in and stomp around. Guys are going to be mad. Guys are going to be upset. We’re honest with ourselves. We’re not living in a fantasy land where we think everything is great, like the standings aren’t there. We’re very aware of that. But we’re going to stay confident."

The last best chance for the Mets came in the eighth when three singles — including two on weak ground balls toward third base — got them within a run.

But after Michael Conforto worked a 10-pitch walk against Vesia to load the bases, Davis swung and missed at two fastballs up in the zone and watched one at the knees — electrifying the Dodger Stadium crowd of 48,117, the largest the Mets have played in front of since Aug. 4, 2016 (Yankee Stadium).

Kenley Jansen needed only seven pitches to get through a perfect ninth inning, striking out Patrick Mazeika on three pitches to end it.

Jeff McNeil finished 0-for-4, dropping his average to .246. He didn’t hit the ball out of the infield. After his last at-bat, with one out and two runners in scoring position during that eighth-inning rally, he was furious when plate umpire Nestor Ceja saw a full-count cutter that seemingly was inside and called it strike three.

McNeil threw his bat and yelled but retreated without further comment. Rojas, brow furrowed, watched from the dugout. "It was a good take by McNeil, but we get nothing out of it," Rojas said. "We probably would’ve had a different ballgame [if it had been called a ball]."

Rojas said McNeil "was pounding himself after the game."

"Some frustration may have come out, but he’s human," Conforto said.

Pete Alonso drove in both Mets runs. He hit his 27th homer to lead off the fourth, jumping on a first-pitch slider — which was down and a bit off the plate — and sneaking it over the wall in right-centerfield. In the eighth, his slow roller toward third was good enough for an RBI single. The Mets outhit the Dodgers 6-5.

Carrasco contributed his longest start of five this year by innings (five) and pitches (78), allowing three runs and five hits. He struck out six and walked one.

That was a huge personal rebound after he got rocked by Los Angeles for six runs in two innings last weekend.

Trea Turner and his elite speed ignited both rallies, with a double in the first and a single in the third. After the latter, he easily scored from first on Max Muncy’s double into the rightfield corner.

Carrasco settled down from there, retiring his final eight hitters — including the Turner/ Muncy/Turner top of the order when they came up for a third time. After missing most of the season with a torn hamstring, he feels now how he usually would at the end of spring training, he said.

"Pretty much everything was good with my mechanics," Carrasco said, noting improvement over his previous outing. "It was a big difference today."

The Mets have lost five consecutive games to the Dodgers, with two more to play. With 40 games left in the season, Conforto believes they still can hit the way they expect.

Why? "I’ve seen them go out there and hit," he said. "I’ve seen them go out there and have great games in this market, in this tough division, against good opponents like the Dodgers, against aces like Walker Buehler. I’ve seen it before. So regardless of what’s happened over the past 120 games, we’re not going to pack up and go home."