Dodgers can’t slow Alonso or solve Canning in loss to Mets

LOS ANGELES A season of fits and starts hit another snag on Wednesday night, the Dodgers sputtering out of the gate during a shaky first inning that set the tone for a 6-1 loss to the New York Mets before a crowd of 45,733 at Chavez Ravine.Pete Alonso capped a three-run first inning with a two-run homer to right-center field off Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin, and the Mets slugger crushed a 447-foot, three-run shot to left-center off reliever Ryan Loutos in the eighth to put the game out of reach.Mets right-hander Griffin Canning, a former Angel, gave up three hits over six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and one walk to earn the win, continuing a resurgent season in which he is 6-2 with a 2.90 ERA in 12 starts.The Dodgers, meanwhile, failed to build on the momentum they generated with Tuesday nights 6-5, 10-inning comeback win against the Mets, advancing only one runner to third base before Andy Pages hit a one-out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth.They are still in first place in the National League West, their 37-25 record keeping them a game ahead of the San Diego Padres, but they are 29-25 since their blistering 8-0 start and have not won more than three games in a row since the beginning of May.Of course, it hasnt helped that the Dodgers have three front-line starting pitchers (Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki) and four top relievers (Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Kirby Yates) on the injured list.Teams win consistently by preventing runs, and its hard to do that when youre piecing together a pitching staff, Manager Dave Roberts said.

For us, its getting a quality start and good innings out of the bullpen.We havent been able to do that for the last few weeks, and thats the reason weve played .500 baseball.

Its been hard to gain traction as far as winning seven of eight games, things like that.The Dodgers made a mess of the first inning on Wednesday night, Gonsolin hitting leadoff man Francisco Lindor in the right foot with a pitch and second baseman Kike Hernandez allowing Brandon Nimmos potential double-play grounder to roll under his glove for an error that put runners on first and third with no outs.Juan Soto grounded out to second, Lindor scoring for a 1-0 lead, and Alonso drove a first-pitch 86 mph slider on the outer half of the plate over the right-center field wall for a two-run home run his 13th of the season and a 3-0 Mets lead.Gonsolin rebounded from his rocky first inning to blank the Mets on two hits over the next four innings, which resulted in a respectable line score of five innings, three runs two earned three hits, six strikeouts and three walks.But Canning was better, shutting down a Dodgers offense that entered Wednesday leading the major leagues in runs (352), home runs (100), batting average (.267), slugging percentage (.469) and OPS (.812) and leading the NL in walks (233), extra-base hits (214) and on-base percentage (.343).Canning went 25-34 with a 4.78 ERA in five seasons with the Angels, including a 6-13 record and 5.19 ERA in 32 games last season, before being traded to Atlanta for slugger Jorge Soler last October.The Braves did not extend a contract offer to the arbitration-eligible Canning in December, freeing up the former Santa Margarita High and UCLA standout to sign a one-year, $4.25 million deal with the Mets, who made some adjustments to Cannings pitch mix and encouraged him to try a new fastball grip.The early returns have been promising, Canning providing quality depth and consistency to a rotation that leads the major leagues with a 2.87 ERA.Canning did not allow a runner to reach second base, and his only real stress came in the fifth inning, when he gave up a one-out single to Dalton Rushing before dotting a 95-mph fastball on the outside corner to Kike Hernandez for a called third strike.Up stepped dangerous leadoff man Shohei Ohtani, Cannings former Angels teammate, who had singled sharply to right field in the third inning.Canning fell behind with a 3-and-1 count but responded with two of his best pitches of the night, an 87 mph slider on the outside corner for a called strike and a 91 mph changeup on the inside corner that the Dodgers slugger took for an inning-ending strikeout that left Ohtani shaking his head on the way back to the dugout.Canning retired the heart of the Dodgers lineup Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez in order in the sixth, pushing his pitch count to 99, before yielding to left-hander Jose Castillo, who escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh by striking out Rushing and Kike Hernandez.Dodgers relievers Anthony Banda and Lou Trivino each threw hitless innings to hold the 3-0 deficit, but Loutos hit Nimmo with a pitch and walked Soto before Alonso drove a 93 mph sinker deep into the left-field pavilion for a 6-0 lead and his 22nd career multi-homer game.More to come on this story.Related ArticlesMichael Kopech, Kirby Yates could rejoin Dodgers bullpen this weekendDodgers rally to tie game in 9th, beat Mets in 10thDodgers Tyler Glasnow clarifies back tightness led to precautionary break in throwingDodgers rally to send game into extra innings but lose to Mets in 10Dodgers pause Tyler Glasnows throwing progression after some discomfort.

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