LOS ANGELES — Mickey Callaway obliterated the grass between the Mets dugout and the pitcher’s mound Tuesday night with a steady pounding of steps and the invariable signal for a reliever.
The Mets were probably due a clunker from a starting pitcher after so many brilliant outings lately, and Jason Vargas’ early misfire meant plenty of action for an expanded September bullpen in an 11-4 loss to the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.
In their previous 16 games, dating to Aug. 18, Mets starting pitchers had posted a 1.60 ERA, which included solid contributions from Vargas. But this dangerous Dodgers lineup wasn’t about to be contained for a second straight game, following Jacob deGrom’s two-hit gem over six innings that yielded one run a night earlier.
“You have got to be almost perfect against this lineup,” Callaway said.
In a step backward after four straight solid starts, Vargas lasted just 3 ¹/₃ innings and surrendered five runs, four earned, on six hits and one walk. The outing followed a four-start stretch in which Vargas was 3-0 with a 1.99 ERA.
Vargas said he wasn’t getting low strikes called Tuesday, and that contributed to big third and fourth innings against him.
“I thought there were some pretty good pitches in there that would have set up some at-bats differently and things just didn’t go our way after that,” Vargas said. “We weren’t able to get the calls to put us in the right situations.”
Corey Oswalt helped turn the game into a runaway in the seventh, allowing five earned runs on four hits and a walk. Jacob Rhame, the Mets’ seventh pitcher of the game, allowed another run in the inning to complete the carnage.
On the plus side, Eric Hanhold made his major league debut and fired 1 ¹/₃ scoreless innings. The righty Hanhold was acquired last season in the trade that sent Neil Walker to the Brewers.
Austin Barnes hit a two-run homer in the third that pulled the Dodgers within 4-2 before it came unhinged for Vargas in the fourth, with the Mets’ defense contributing to the meltdown.
After David Freese homered to lead off the inning and two ensuing hits put runners on second and third, Barnes hit a popup near the first-base dugout that Jay Bruce let drop near the railing. Barnes followed with a grounder to third that Todd Frazier booted for an error, tying it 4-4. Brian Dozier put the Dodgers ahead with an RBI fielder’s choice.