5 things to watch as Mets host Dodgers for 3-game set at Citi Field

Here are five things to watch when the Mets and Dodgers play a three-game series at Citi Field...

Can the Mets build off their walk-off win?

It looked like the Mets were headed for their sixth straight loss and second consecutive series sweep late on Sunday afternoon against the Giants.

But finally in the bottom of the ninth, they were the ones who played spoiler, as they rallied for four runs to pull out a thrilling walk-off win with the big hits coming from Harrison Bader and Omar Narvaez.

The Mets have been playing some extremely discouraging baseball over the past few weeks, but they’ll look to build off this wild win when they open the week against the Dodgers.

Los Angeles has looked more like the juggernaut everyone expected them to be, but they’ve faltered off of late, dropping five consecutive games including a road series sweep at the hands of the Reds.

J.D. against LA

With the Dodgers in town, J.D Martinez gets to face-off with the team he spent last season mashing for.

The veteran joined the Dodgers on a one-year deal after playing the previous five campaigns in Boston, and he was a key figure in their lineup, producing 33 homers and 103 RBI across 113 games.

After Los Angeles landed Shohei Ohtani this offseason, Martinez remained on the open market, and he of course ended up joining the Mets on a one-year deal in the final days of spring training.

The 36-year-old slugger has been productive since joining New York, posting nine extra base-hits and 10 RBI over his first 27 games.

He’ll have a particularly good matchup in the series finale on Wednesday when veteran lefty James Paxton takes the mound, who has has two homers and a 1.409 OPS against in his career.

Peterson’s season debut

David Peterson is expected to be activated from the injured list to make his regular season debut against Paxton in Wednesday afternoon's series finale.

Adrian Houser, who threw four strong innings and earned his first win as a Met on Sunday, slides back to the bullpen now that Peterson is back in the mix.

The 28-year-old southpaw has been working his way back to the starting rotation after undergoing offseason surgery for a torn labrum in his left hip.

Peterson’s been progressing well and he was stretched out to 89 pitches across four innings of work in what turned out to be his final rehab appearance on Wednesday night with Triple-A Syracuse.

He pitched spectacularly in his previous tuneup matchups prior to that, allowing just three earned runs while also showing exceptional command with three walks and 35 punchouts across 23.3 innings.

Hey Freddie

With the Dodgers in town, Mets fans get to connect with their old friend Freddie Freeman once again.

Freeman’s gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season for his MVP-esque standards, but he remains a key figure in that juggernaut of a Dodgers lineup, posting a .390 OBP and 30 RBI through 55 games

We also know that he always loves seeing the orange and blue on the mound, having been one of the biggest Met killers throughout his big-league career, posting 30 homers and 126 RBI in 760 at-bats.

Freeman’s been a bit cold of late, hitting just .214 with one homer and five RBI over his last seven games, but he’s always one to watch when he’s facing Mets pitching.

Can the Mets figure out Glasnow?

The Mets will have to deal with Dodgers ace Tyler Glasnow when he takes the ball against Jose Quintana in the second game of this series.

Glasnow was absolutely dominant when he faced the Mets earlier this season at Chavez Ravine, working around seven hits and striking out 10 across eight stellar shutout innings.

The right-hander has hit a bit of a rough patch after an outstanding start to the year, allowing seven runs and losing each of his last two contests, but he still has a 3.09 ERA and 0.91 WHIP.

The Mets will look to keep his losing ways going if they can figure him out this time around.