Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
A three-run homer in the top of the 10th inning saved the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday in New York, as they beat the Mets, 7-4, though no thanks to their new acquisition who immediately failed in his new role.
While Joc Pederson’s game-winning home run probably should be my main focus, instead I’d like to note Brandon Kintzler allowed two hits and threw a wild pitch during the three batters he faced. With Blake Treinen allowing a lead-off double by Michael Conforto to start the 8th, Kintzler let his inherited runner score to cut the lead down to 4-3.
Pedro Baez entered into the mess and also threw a wild pitch while allowing a walk and a hit to Luis Guillorme, who tied the game at 4-4 in the 8th. Needing three pitchers to finish up the 8th inning, the Dodgers (33-24) turned back (?) to Kenley Jansen to close out the game, needing just 16 pitches across two innings.
With Jansen shutting down the Mets (37-21), Seth Lugo’s failure to do the same cost his team the game. After walking one and allowing a hit around a pair of outs, Lugo nearly escaped the jam he created. However, Pederson deposited a Lugo pitch into the right field bleachers to give the Dodgers a 7-4 lead.
“We’ll relax tonight and enjoy this win,” Pederson said after the game as he tore open a pint of ice cream.
While each bullpen struggled in its own way late, Michael Wacha and Julio Urias battled early on. Corey Seager, of course, tagged Wacha with a run-scoring triple in the opening inning to score Gavin Lux, and the Dodgers added one more on an RBI-single by Matrix Muncy.
From there, Wacha ran into little trouble across his seven innings of work. With six hits and two walks allowed, Wacha struck out seven. He would leave the game trailing though, as Lux connected on a solo home run with two outs in the seventh.
On the other side, Urias slowed down his control issues as he struck out eight against just two walks in his 5 2/3 innings. Yoenis Cespedes was really the only Met to consistently get to Urias, with an RBI-triple in the first and a solo dong in the fourth. Finishing the game 3-for-4 with a walk, Cespedes drove in three of the Mets’ runs and scored the fourth.
Urias left the game in the sixth, with Caleb “Turd” Ferguson entering earlier than normal. And wouldn’t you know, the roulette wheel landed on strikeout rather than homer or walk. Needing just six pitches to close out the inning, Ferguson left after one batter before Treinen worked a perfect seventh.
Clayton Kershaw and Jacob deGrom face off in the series finale on Sunday. The Dodgers will play the game with Ross Stripling back on the roster after he was recalled and Brusdar Graterol was sent down to Double-A Tulsa.
