What going on with the Mets' offense? A new low against the Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — The only solace for the Mets on Monday night in Los Angeles was that there are still 145 games to go.

Because there were not many more positives to be drawn for the Mets as they opened their series against the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers.

The Mets offense stayed ice cold and David Peterson was punished in the early going as they fell 4-0 in front of a sold-out crowd of 52,838 fans at Dodger Stadium.

With another empty offensive night, the Mets continued their early-season descent. They have now dropped six straight games only a little more than two weeks into the Major League Baseball season.

"It sucks going through, whether it's early, in the middle of the season or late," Carlos Mendoza said. "You know at some point during the regular season in 162 (games), you're going to face adversity. Here we are, pretty early facing adversity. We just got to find a way to get through it. We got to find a way and we will."

Looking for 'quality of contact'

New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos (27) breaks his bat on a ground out in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 13, 2026, at Dodger Stadium.

The names don't jump off the page.

There's the Athletics' Aaron Civale and J.T. Ginn. The latest was Justin Wrobleski on Monday night.

Those are the three starting pitchers that have held the Mets scoreless in three shutouts across the last four games.

Wrobleski, who was making only the 10th start of his career, managed to turn in a career day against the slumping Mets. He did not allow a hit until there was one out in the top of the fifth and twirled a career-high eight scoreless innings with two hits allowed.

"Just having a hard time driving the baseball," Mendoza said. "A lot of ground balls. Even the balls that we're hitting hard, they're on the ground. We're just having a hard time squaring up fastballs or anything. They continue to put us on the ground and that's what you see in the results of the at-bats."

Through the first five innings, the Mets hit seven balls hard but only one - Jorge Polanco's one-out single in the fifth - went for a hit. And it was quickly erased on a double play.

Over the last six games, the Mets have scored two runs or fewer five times and only collected more than six hits twice.

"I think we're trying to control the strike zone and swing at the right ones, and that's only half the battle," Marcus Semien said. "Quality of contact is something we're all striving for. Control the strike zone, have quality contact and have a lot better results than we're having now."

Juan Soto's absence now looming large

New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts on a call strike against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning on April 3, 2026, at Oracle Park.

Juan Soto is back in New York working back from his right calf strain, and while the Mets are optimistic that he will be back within the two- to three-week timeline, he has yet to begin running.

"We'll probably do another imaging here pretty soon if we feel like we have to," Mendoza said. "Right now, everything we're seeing is trending in that direction (of two to three weeks)."

The Mets won their first three games without Soto but the offense has dried up since. They have scored an average of 3.4 runs per game without the superstar outfielder.

Soto was off to one of his best offensive starts before suffering the injury running from first to third base in the second game of the series in San Francisco on April 3. He opened on an eight-game hitting streak and was slashing .355/.412/.516 before his exit.

"He's the best left-handed hitter in the game," Semien said. "We miss him, but we need to get him right. Make sure he comes back healthy. We don't want to see a situation where he comes back too soon and then something worse happens."

David Peterson feels better but still drops third straight

New York Mets pitcher David Peterson (23) sits in the dug out before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 13, 2026, at Dodger Stadium.

David Peterson's fourth start of the season will be remembered for another slow start and a hanging curveball.

He allowed the first four Dodgers to reach, including plunking Shohei Ohtani in a two-strike count to begin the game, and gave up an RBI single to Will Smith. Then, he struck out Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages and Max Muncy in order.

After a 1-2-3 second inning, Peterson walked two more batters and left a knee-high curveball over the plate to Pages, who gashed a three-run home run to move the Dodgers ahead 4-0.

It was Peterson's third straight start of at least four earned runs allowed. He managed to strand three baserunners in the fourth and fifth innings, including working around a pair of one-out doubles.

"I felt a lot better with my stuff," Peterson said. "Felt like I was able to get the sinker down, the changeup I was missing down and the slider was consistently at the bottom. I left the one curveball up, but felt a lot better about my stuff."

Mendoza agreed it was a step in the right direction but a bit up and down after Peterson was hit around by the Giants and Diamondbacks.

"Stuff wise, it was probably the best we've seen," Mendoza said. "Got some swing and misses, but the walks, he hung that breaking ball, but I thought the velo was better today. But even when he got ahead, there was three-ball counts."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets offense continues to struggle, losing streak reaches six games