There’s just something about the Mets this season. Even if the Dodgers split this series with a win tonight, they’ve already lost the season series, which could make October interesting. Teams’ head-to-head records are the first tiebreaker when it comes to postseason seeding, so if these two teams end up with the same record, the Mets will have home field advantage in a potential matchup.

And the Mets aren’t the only ones: The Dodgers also lost the season series to the Cubs, who would be in the postseason if regular play ended today, and lost two out of three games to the Phillies in April. They’ll have the chance to make up for it in September.

There’s plenty for the Dodgers to learn from this series that could come in handy should the teams face each other in the postseason again: The Mets have excellent pitching, which silenced Dodger bats in Wednesday’s loss.

“If you look back at the two series we’ve played against these guys, they’ve pitched us really well,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The execution, sequencing, we’re kind of one step behind as far as anticipating what they’re going to do. And then when we do get opportunities with mistakes in the hitting zone, we’re not cashing in.”

And then there’s the offense. Pete Alonso has driven in 10 runs agains the Dodgers this season, five of which came last night alone, and Juan Soto consistently contributed in the season series as well.

There’s hope, though: As Sonja Chen at MLB.com notes, Wednesday’s game was the only one decided by more than three runs, and that was only until Alonso’s second homer of the night in the eighth inning.

Dodgers Notes

It’s a familiar story: Clayton Kershaw gets injured, puts in a good rehab stint, and returns to the Dodgers a little shakier than before, but still a star. History is repeating itself, but Kershaw and manager Dave Roberts aren’t worried in the slightest, writes Dylan Hernández at the Los Angeles Times.

Former Dodger Justin Turner is having a tough season with the Cubs, but that’s no reason to trade him away, writes Kenneth Teape at Sports Illustrated. Turner may be batting .210 right now, but his wisdom as a longtime pro are invaluable.

After Shohei Ohtani gave Joe Kelly’s wife, Ashley, a Porsche to thank her for her efforts in getting Joe to give up his number, the car became something of a practical joke within the Dodgers clubhouse. It resulted in a luxurious little gift for Ohtani’s baby daughter, writes Beth Harris at Yahoo Sports.