Dodgers offense struggles again in Game 1 loss to Mets

LOS ANGELES -- As is often the case in a close game, the focus falls on a single play and ignores an otherwise systemic problem. On Friday in Game 1, David Wright 's two-run single against Pedro Baez was the single biggest play of the game, providing the winning margin in the Mets' 3-1 victory over the Dodgers.

But in the loss, the Dodgers offense sputtered once again.

Obviously, Jacob deGrom was a huge part of that, striking out 13 in his seven scoreless innings.

"I thought we did a pretty good job with him of not chasing the change or the breaking ball down, but with that you end up chasing some elevated fastballs, and I think he beat us with that a little bit," manager Don Mattingly said. "We had a few chances. We got some runners, JT got on a couple times. They had a little rally going. We just weren't able to get that hit early."

The Dodgers did have some chances against deGrom, both with leadoff hits by Justin Turner, who doubled in the second and singled in the fourth. But both innings ended with Clayton Kershaw batting with two outs, not the most ideal scoring chances.

Kershaw hit arguably the best ball of the night against deGrom, a drive to deep center field in the sixth, but Yoenis Cespedes was able to easily track it down on the warning track.

The Dodgers finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, with the hit a single by Adrian Gonzalez in the eighth inning to drive home Howie Kendrick when the Dodgers were already down 3-0.

The Dodgers hit .230/.309/.358 with runners in scoring position since July 1, and scored 3.99 runs per game during that span of 83 games.

They had seven hits on the night, though two were doubles that were really would-be outs horribly misplayed by Michael Cuddyer in left field.

Since the start of the 2013 playoffs, the Dodgers are 6-2 when they score three or more runs. They are 0-7 when they do not.

Simply put, the Dodgers offense has to find a way to score. The matchups won't be any easier, with Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey starting the next two games for the Mets.

Mattingly wouldn't reveal any lineup changes planned for Game 2.

"Syndergaard's a little different than deGrom. He just mixes a little bit different," Mattingly said. "We'll just look at it and put the best lineup out there for tomorrow."

Record hit streak

One bright spot for the offense was A.J. Ellis, who singled in the fourth inning and went 1-for-3, extending his postseason hitting streak to 11 games, tying Carl Crawford (2013-2014) for the Dodgers franchise record.

Up next

Zack Greinke gets the start in Game 2, a 6:07 p.m. PT start. Syndergaard starts for the Mets.