After Severino misplays a pair of comebackers, Mets in need of NLCS comeback against Dodgers

NEW YORK (AP) — On a night of misplayed comebackers, the New York Mets put themselves in a need of yet another comeback.

Luis Severino twice botched grounders, leading to a pair of unearned runs in the second inning. And after the Mets loaded the bases with one out in the bottom half, Francisco Alvarez and Francisco Lindor both struck out against Walker Buehler.

Los Angeles sizzled and New York fizzled in an 8-0 loss Wednesday that gave the Dodgers a 2-1 NL Championship Series lead.

“We got beat 9-0 the first game, then we came back and won Game 2. I don’t see why we can’t come back and do that tomorrow,” said Mets reliever Reed Garrett, who allowed Kiké Hernández's two-run, sixth-inning homer that made it 4-0.

Severino put on Max Muncy leading off the second with the first of seven walks by Mets pitchers and Teoscar Hernández hit a tapper in front of the plate. Alvarez tried for the lead runner but his throw hit Muncy, and Alvarez was charged with an error.

“Maybe tried to do a little too much there,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Gavin Lux hit a one-hopper to Severino, a Gold Glove finalist, that easily could have been turned into a double play, but the ball hit off the pitcher's glove and Severino's only option when he picked it up was to throw to first for an out.

Will Smith, extending his at-bat to nine pitches, followed with another one-hopper. This one deflected off Severino's glove and rolled toward shortstop for an infield hit as Muncy scored the game's first run. Three pitches later, Tommy Edman's sacrifice fly built a 2-0 lead.

“I feel like my glove messed everything up in that inning there," Severino said. “I should have caught those. One, it should have been an easy double play. The other one, I should have stopped the guy going to home plate.”

Jose Iglesias' single between walks to J.D. Martinez and Tyrone Taylor loaded the bases in the bottom half. Alvarez, 1 for 21 with the bases loaded in his regular-season career, took a 2-2 fastball on the outside corner for a called third strike.

That brought up Lindor, a .336 hitter with the bases loaded over 10 big league seasons. He had erased a one-run, sixth-inning deficit with his slam off Philadelphia ' s Carlos Estévez in the Division Series Game 4 clincher. This time Lindor swung over a full-count knuckle-curve.

“He does a really good job of tunneling,” Lindor said. “It comes from the same spot as the fastball and then it drops.”

Buehler walked off the mound, shouting and pounding his bare hand into his glove. The 30-year-old right-hander returned to the major leagues in May following Tommy John surgery and is a different pitcher than he was when he became a two-time All-Star.

“In 2018, 2019, 2020 I would have thrown a fastball,” he said.

Shohei Ohtani provided the night's most memorable moment with a three-run homer in the eighth against Tylor Megill that soared over the right-field foul pole. Citi Field was less than half-full by the ninth inning as many in the sellout crowd of 43,883 had their fill of frustration.

New York has been blanked in both losses while getting seven hits and striking out 20 times. The Mets' NLCS batting average is down to 179, with Lindor and Pete Alonso both 1 for 11, Brandon Nimmo 1 for 10 and Alvarez 1 for 9.

Mets pitchers have walked 22.

“They’re not going to chase as much,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got to not only get ahead but we’ve got to continue to stay on the attack and execute pitches. If we get behind in counts, they’re going to make us pay.”

After starting the season 0-5 and dropping to 22-33 when the Dodgers swept a three-game series at Citi Field in May, the Mets are confident they can rebound.

“You got to flush this one as fast as you can,” Lindor said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

New York Mets' Luis Severino is taken out of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches his three-run home run against the New York Mets during the eighth inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen celebrates after striking out New York Mets' Francisco Lindor during the seventh inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler and catcher Will Smith celebrate after New York Mets' Francisco Lindor strike out with the bases loaded to end the second inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani celebrates his three-run home run against the New York Mets during the eighth inning in Game 3 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia will give 49 of its aging M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine months after Kyiv requested the redundant fleet, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday.

The Australian government was giving Ukraine most of its American-made M1A1 tanks, which are valued at 245 million Australian dollars ($163 million), Marles said. They will be replaced in Australia by a fleet of 75 next-generation M1A2 tanks.

In February, Marles said that giving Ukraine the tanks as they were phased out was not on his government’s agenda. But on Thursday he said he did not regard the donation as a backflip on his government's previous position.

“We talk with the Ukrainian government consistently around how best we can support them,” Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“We look at the material that we have; its effectiveness, ... the shape that it’s in, to be frank, whether it would be able to make a difference, whether it can be sustained and maintained so that it can be kept in the fight. And the Abrams tanks fit all of those criteria,” he added.

The United States provided the necessary permission for Australia to transfer the tanks to Ukraine as required under U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Defense Industry and Capability Delivery Minister Pat Conroy said.

“We are working very closely with our U.S. allies on the donation of these tanks,” Conroy said.

The United States agreed to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive monthslong campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines.

Conroy said Australia placed no specific conditions on how Ukraine used the tanks or on whether they crossed the Russian border.

“Our long-standing principle is as long as they are used according to the international rules of law, there are no other conditions,” Conroy said.

Ukraine's Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, would not be drawn on opposition lawmakers’ criticisms that the tanks should have been donated earlier.

“This is a very timely, a very substantial and very fit-for-purpose announcement,” Myroshnychenko said. “We respect the decision of the government. It was not an easy one and I’m very happy that it was a positive one."

The tanks bring the total value of Australia’s military assistance to Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion to over AU$1.3 billion ($866 million).

In this photo released by Australian Department of Defence, an Australian Army trooper fires the .50 cal heavy machine gun from an Australian Army M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank during Exercise Gauntlet Strike at the Puckapunyal Military Area in Victoria, Australia, on June 26, 2024. (CPL Johnny Huang/Australian Department of Defence via AP)