The New York Mets’ six-game winning streak was snapped with a 10-0 loss Sunday at the Los Angeles Dodgers, two days after starting catcher Francisco Alvarez suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb.
The Mets will need to tread on without Alvarez, who is set to undergo surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles and is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
New York manager Carlos Mendoza will employ a tandem of Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido at catcher until Alvarez returns and said he’s confident in his roster as the Mets start a three-game series on Monday night against the Giants in San Francisco.
“Guys are going to have to step up,” Mendoza said. “Narvi, Nido, we feel good about them. We know how much energy (Alvarez) brings. But like I always say, ‘Next man up.’ It’s an opportunity here for Nido and Narvaez to step up.”
Nido, recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday, batted ninth in the order Sunday and had one hit in three at-bats as the Mets lost for only the second time in their past 10 games.
The Giants, meanwhile, are coming off a four-game split against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks, including a 5-3 loss on Sunday.
That game ended without Giants manager Bob Melvin and third-base coach Matt Williams in the dugout. They were ejected in the top of the ninth inning after arguing with plate umpire Stu Scheurwater over whether Arizona’s Kevin Newman swung and missed at a 1-2 pitch.
On replays, it appeared Newman swung over a pitch from the Giants’ Nick Avila. Scheurwater called it a foul tip, giving Newman’s at-bat extended life.
On the next pitch, Newman doubled to left, scoring a run and giving Arizona a 4-2 lead.
“Strike three, in my opinion,” Melvin said of the umpire’s call.
“It’s an out right there instead of a hit and run,” the manager added. “It looked to me fairly clear” that the ball hit the ground instead of Newman’s bat on the foul-tip call.
A bright spot for the Giants was the fifth-inning home run by Mike Yastrzemski that gave them a 2-1 lead. For Yastrzemski, batting just .182 in a slow start to the season, it was his first homer and first extra-base hit of 2024.
After the game, he didn’t want to talk about the home run, just the umpire’s call.
“At least like maybe appeal with the other umpires,” he said. “Talk to them, see if they saw something. I don’t understand why we can’t take a second to figure it out and get it right.”
The Giants now will regroup as they prepare for the next six games — three against the Mets, three with the Pittsburgh Pirates — of their 10-game homestand.
Right-hander Keaton Winn (1-3, 4.09 ERA) will take the mound for the Giants against veteran left-hander Jose Quintana (1-1, 3.05) on Monday.
Winn, in his second season in the major leagues, will make his first career start against the Mets.
Quintana is 1-3 with a 4.30 ERA in six appearances (five starts) against the Giants in his career. He has 27 strikeouts with nine walks in 29 1/3 innings in those appearances.
–Field Level Media
