The Mets didn’t get off to the best start at the beginning of a crucial west coast trip, losing Francisco Lindor to a finger fracture after slamming it in a hotel door before the team dropped the first two games to the dynamic Dodgers.
But New York, instead of bowing out for the rest of the four-game set and likely raising questions about yet another potential June collapse, went out and grabbed the next two games to escape with an encouraging series split, one that the Mets believe showed that they can compete with a team that has been a National League juggernaut in recent years, and perhaps eclipse them when they have all their weapons available.
“Hopefully, the test is more so at the end of the year,” J.D. Davis said. “I think this was maybe moreso a quiz…we weren’t at full strength. We didn’t have [Jacob] deGrom, we didn’t have [Max] Scherzer, our starting shortstop was out for a game because he hurt his finger. If he was in there, sure, the game could be completely different.
“We’re not at full strength, and just to come out here and get a split, that says a lot about our team…we’ve got some grit on this team. Don’t count us out.”
New York held a two-run lead in the ninth inning of the series finale on Sunday, but even after the Dodgers battled back to tie the game, the Mets settled down and plated a run in the 10th before shutting LA down in the bottom half of the inning to earn the split and leave town with a higher winning percentage than a Dodgers team that many consider to be the overwhelming favorite to win the pennant.
But with the way the Mets have been playing and the way they rebounded on the road, Davis says New York should be considered right in line with LA.
“It shows how good we are,” Davis said. “We’re just as good as them…to be down 0-2 and split here in a tough environment and get that win over Buehler and a win over Urias…it felt like a chess match.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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