When the NLCS began, the Mets had an obvious edge over the Los Angeles Dodgers when it came to starting pitching. The Dodgers have 10 injured arms, including three starting pitchers, while the Mets have a deep rotation full of starters who have been pitching deep into games. But the Mets haven’t been able to enjoy that advantage three games into the series, and they gained no advantage being back at home at Citi Field either. There were missed opportunities at the plate and some hard-hit balls that died on the warning track,  shaky start from Luis Severino and a bullpen blowup the Mets were doomed in an 8-0 loss in Game 3 of the NLCS. The Dodgers shut out the Mets for the second time in three games to take a 2-1 lead in the series. “This is nothing new,” Severino said. “We just need to come back tomorrow and try to win that game. If we win two of three here, that’ll be huge for us.” Except, it is new. The Mets haven’t trailed in any series but this one. There haven’t been any late game comebacks like the ones the Mets pulled off in the Wild Card round and the NLDS, with the bullpen allowing 12 runs in the two NLCS losses, six in each game. Reed Garrett gave up a two-run homer in the top of the sixth to double the Los Angeles lead (4-0), and Tylor Megill gave up two homers in three innings of relief. One was a three-run moonshot to Shohei Ohtani that landed in the second deck of right field in the eighth. “Obviously trying to put up zeros and keep the game close,” Megill said. “Couldn’t do that tonight.” This is a team that has taken some serious punches to the mouth and been able to respond, but the Mets will need their big bats to show up to win. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez combining to go 0-for-10 with two walks. Lindor and Mark Vientos each hit balls to the warning track that might have been home runs when the ball flies in warm weather, and would have been home runs in other parks. There were plenty of runners on base and the Mets knocked right-hander Walker Buehler out of the game after only four innings. However, they never got the hit they needed, leaving eight runners on and going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. The Mets didn’t make excuses. “Not [tough] for them, right? They hit it out,” Lindor said. “I felt like we had quality at-bats, we just didn’t get any hits. I hit the ball hard, both of them. But for me, I didn’t think they would have gone out whether it was a good day or a bad day. I didn’t think they were with a going out. So we’ve just got to get hits, just got to make something happen.” Despite the lack of offense, manager Carlos Mendoza is not going to shake up the lineup for Game 4, especially with the Dodgers throwing right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. “When you look at his numbers, his splits [are] reversed. He’s been a lot better against lefties,” Mendoza said. “I would anticipate our righties to be in the lineup tomorrow. The guys that are in there got us to this point and I’m pretty confident they’ll come through.” Yamamoto has drastic platoon splits, holding left-handers to a .193 average and a .523 OPS, and right-handed hitters to a .263 average with a .744 OPS. “We’re creating traffic. I like the fact that we are getting guys on base,” Mendoza said. “Just haven’t been able to come up with a big hit but I’ll continue to take my chances with these guys. As long as we continue to create traffic, somebody’s going to come up and get that big one for us.” A costly error by catcher Francisco Alvarez resulted in the Dodgers taking a 2-0 lead in the second. It was a particularly ugly game for Alvarez, who went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Severino walked Max Muncy to lead off the inning and Teoscar Hernandez chopped one right in front of the plate. Alvarez launched an off-target throw to second and Jose Iglesias had no way to make a play on it. With two on and none out, Gavin Lux moved the runners over on a ground ball right back to Severino. Will Smith hit one to Severino as well, but the ball hit off of his glove and Muncy came home easily. Severino didn’t fault Alvarez. “I should have caught those,” Severino said. “One should have been an easy double play. Another one, I should stopped the guy going to home plate.” Tommy Edman then hit a fly ball that carried to the warning track in right center field. Tyrone Taylor and Starling Marte both converged, with Taylor somehow making a leaping catch and maintaining control of the ball in his glove even as Marte collided with him. Still, it was deep enough to score Hernandez. “When you’re giving a team like this extra outs and extra bases, they’re going to make you pay,” Mendoza said.