LOS ANGELES -- According to those in charge of such matters, the primary reason why the Mets did not make Peter Alonso -- their second-ranked prospect, who mashed 36 homers in the Minors this season -- a September callup is because they could not find enough playing time for him down the stretch of a lost season. The Mets consider their first-base reps too precious as they try to determine if Jay Bruce, among others, is fit to play there next year.
That situation grew no clearer when Bruce hit a home run but showed his defensive warts in the Mets' 11-4 loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday, demonstrating all that he can be and all that he is not.
"I'd be lying to you if I told you that I didn't want a restart on this year -- just push the reset button and move forward," Bruce said. "But you can't. What's happened is happened. And I want to hold up my end of the bargain. I want to be out there and play every day, and do what I can do help this team."
First, the good: Facing left-hander Rich Hill in the second inning at Dodger Stadium, Bruce hit a two-run homer -- just his fifth of the season, but his second since coming off the disabled list on Aug. 24. Bruce believes that the back, hip and foot injuries that sapped his power earlier this season are no longer an issue, and his production since returning -- a .270 average with five extra-base hits in 11 games -- corroborates that assessment.
"Offensively, he's looked great," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "I'm sure he feels like he's in a really good spot."
But Bruce, whose right-field defense approached elite levels during his peak, remains a work in progress at first base. Starting there Tuesday for just the 22nd time in his 11-year career, Bruce pulled up short of an Austin Barnes popup down the first-base line, allowing it to drop harmlessly during a third-inning rally. Given new life, Barnes subsequently hit a grounder to third, where Todd Frazier bobbled it to allow a run to score.

"I feel like I should catch that," Bruce said, "but I haven't had any experience doing that. It's experience. There are so many nuances."
That was the only unearned run among the five total runs that Jason Vargas allowed. Coming off a four-start stretch that saw him go 3-0 with a 1.99 ERA, Vargas served up homers to Barnes and David Freese, then watched as Corey Oswalt and Jacob Rhame combined to allow six more runs in the seventh.
The Mets, who did not score after Michael Conforto hit a two-run homer off Hill in the third inning, couldn't respond with any sort of meaningful comeback. Their ninth-inning rally ended before Bruce could grab a bat, though that was of less importance in the greater picture of the season.

The team has long known what Bruce, whose 36 home runs last season earned him a three-year, $39 million contract, can do at the plate. They are less sure about his defense at a foreign position, motivating them to answer that question heading into the winter. With both Conforto and Brandon Nimmo deserving of outfield playing time, and Yoenis Cespedes and Juan Lagares eventually due back from injuries, the Mets have reason to test Bruce at first base.
While Alonso may be the long-term answer there, the Mets seemingly have little interest in accelerating the prospect's timetable. Whether right or wrong, that decision makes Bruce's performance at first all the more important.
"People think you can just throw anybody over at first base," Bruce said. "I don't think that's true. I think the first baseman can make a big difference on a team. If I am going to play first base, I want to be able to make a positive difference. And I think that I can."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Six in the seventh: For all the Mets' issues, they entered into the seventh inning trailing by just a run. That changed in a hurry, when Oswalt allowed all five hitters he faced to reach base. Justin Turner led things off with a double and scored on Manny Machado's two-base hit. Machado then came home on a wild pitch and, after walking Matt Kemp, Oswalt gave up consecutive RBI hits to Freese and Enrique Hernandez.

SAVE THAT BALL
Entering to begin the bottom of the fifth, reliever Eric Hanhold maxed out at 97 mph in his Major League debut, also throwing a slider in the low 90s. He allowed a single and hit a batter, but managed to record four outs without allowing a run.
Hanhold struck out 57 batters in 49 1/3 innings over four Minor League levels this season -- his first in the Mets organization, after the team traded Neil Walker for him late last summer.
HE SAID IT
"We go up, 4-0, and I feel good with the ball in my hand and the way it's coming out. After that homer, some things unraveled a little bit. It just started to go their way and not ours." -- Vargas on Barnes' third-inning home run

MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
Three Dodgers converged on Amed Rosario's popup down the right-field line in the seventh inning, but none of them gloved it, watching as the ball kicked up chalk. After first-base umpire Mark Wegner ruled it foul, the Mets successfully challenged. Rosario wound up with a double and would have come around to score, had Freese not made an athletic play to save Machado a throwing error later in the inning.

UP NEXT
Conforto, Bruce and friends will face a lefty for the sixth time in eight games Wednesday when they oppose Hyun-Jin Ryu in the series finale at Dodger Stadium. Zack Wheeler, who is 6-1 with a 1.19 ERA since the All-Star break, will start for the Mets in the 7:35 p.m. ET game.