Mets offense was brutal Game 3 tease

In the first five innings, four Mets at-bats powered an estimated 1,460 feet of deep flies.They added up to four outs.The Mets were glad to have the fans at their back after a pair of games in Los Angeles, but they were less glad to have the wind at their face and the chilly, fall weather around them during a game in which many balls were hit hard, but only the Dodgers managed to clear the wall (three times).The Mets were held inside the park during the 8-0, Game 3 loss that put them in another NLCS hole on a night the temperature fell into the mid-40s — and batted balls played like they did during the offensively challenging times in April.Four times in the early going the Mets put forth swings that brought fans to their feet, and each one finished with those fans disappointed in retaking their seats.The tone was set immediately with the first batter in the bottom of the first inning, Francisco Lindor smacking a Walker Buehler fastball that jumped off his bat at 100.1 mph.It chased left fielder Kiké Hernández back to the warning track but died in Hernandez’s glove, 371 feet away.In the third inning, it was Pete Alonso who swung, hoped and then returned to the dugout.

With a runner on first, the slugger drilled a Buehler offering 351 feet to left for a drive that Statcast estimated would have been a home run at four ballparks.None of those parks was Citi Field, and the the ball fell into Hernandez’s glove.Twice in the fifth inning, the Mets allowed themselves to believe — and twice they were let down.

Against Michael Kopech, Lindor smacked another one to left, a 350-foot shot that would have led to a circling of the bases in Houston, but it went for another flyout.Two pitches later, Mark Vientos crushed a cutter that flew off his bat at 103.6 mph and traveled 388 feet to right-center.

What would have been a home run at Dodger Stadium was yet another out at Citi Field.All of those swings provided hope but doubt, too.There was no doubt when Shohei Ohtani...