The Los Angeles Dodgers erased a two-run deficit in the ninth inning to tie the game late but it wasn’t enough as the New York Mets were able to get clutch hits from Pete Alonso and J.D. Davis.
Davis doubled on a sharp line drive to center field in the 10th, sending Alonso home as the Mets went on to pick up their eighth win in 10 games with a 5-4 victory over the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
With the loss, Los Angeles (35-19) finished its seven game homestand with a 2-5 record while recently being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates and now adding a four-game series split with New York (37-19).
“It’s ending on a sour note, obviously, to lose two in a row at home,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Mets pitcher Trevor Williams struck out five over five innings and allowed six hits for New York, while rookie Adonis Medina struck out Will Smith in the 10th to get the save in a thriller.
“You can see how talented they are, the pitching they have and the lineup they have,” said Trea Turner, who had a successful outing for the Dodgers. “They’re a pretty complete ballclub, as are we. … Anytime you can go head-to-head with one of the better teams in the league, it’s always fun, and I think this series was pretty fun.”
L.A. was able to strike first behind a two-run homer by Turner in the first inning to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
“The homer from Trea was great, but we just sort of shut down for seven innings and didn’t threaten,” Roberts said. ”
“Just looking for a pitch in the zone and keeping it simple,” said Turner on his home run.
Julio Urías allowed only three-hits and one run into the sixth for the Dodgers, bouncing back after struggling in his two previous starts.
However, Brusdar Graterol entered the game after allowing three runs on Saturday night and was unable to stop the Mets from catching momentum when Francisco Lindor and Alonso led off with back-to-back doubles to even the score at 2-2 in the eighth.
“Guys were in a position to throw the baseball well,” Roberts said.
Starling Marte homered in the third and the Mets took a 4-2 lead after scoring three runs in the eighth behind Alonso, Escobar and Tomas Nido driving in runs against the bullpen of the Dodgers.
“It doesn’t matter how hard you throw,” Roberts added of Graterol. “You still gotta command the baseball, and he’s just not.”
The Dodgers quickly answered once Will Smith lined a leadoff home run to right field to cut their deficit to 4-3 in the ninth, setting up Chris Taylor to blast a two-out double down the left field line.
Eddy Alvarez then singled a sharp ground ball to center field, allowing Taylor to score and even the game 4-4 for L.A., only before New York responded once again.
Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel had his opportunity for the save but Davis doubled to center field on a line drive, sending Alonso home for what would be the game winning run after L.A. failed to score in bottom of the 10th.
“Could have had an opportunity to put those guys away, and to let a team like that hang around, they’re going to put some runs on the board. That’s what happened,” Roberts said.
After a travel day, the Dodgers will next prepare for a three-game road series as L.A. takes on the Chicago White Sox (25-27) on Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field at 5:10pm.
