The New York Mets were the cure for the ailing Los Angeles Dodgers.
In the first game of a Monday doubleheader, the Dodgers rallied from a late 2-0 hole for a 5-2 win. The win was aided by multiple Mets blunders down the stretch and snapped a five-game losing streak, the franchise’s longest since 2019.
Mookie Betts plated the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning before Freedie Freeman broke the game open with a two-run home run.
The Dodgers had no answers for Mets starter Tylor Megill, who pitched seven sterling innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out nine. But the Mets allowed them hang around long enough to break the game open in the 10th.
Late error sparks Dodgers’ rally
The Dodgers finally broke through in the eighth with the aid of an inning-extending error by Mets third baseman Brett Baty. Reliever Reed Garrett allowed a leadoff single to Jason Heyward. Andy Pages then took his place at first base on a fielder’s choice, bringing the top of the Dodgers’ MVP-stacked order to the plate with one out. Mookie Betts grounded into what looked like an inning-ending double play.
But Baty fumbled the ball after fielding it and didn’t get a throw off, allowing Betts to reach safely at first and Pages to advance to second.
That brought Shohei Ohtani to the plate with two on and one out, prompting Mets manager Carlos Mendoza to call left-hander Jake Diekman to the mound.
Diekman also induced a potential double-play ball, but yielded just one out when Ohtani sprinted to first base to beat the throw. Freddie Freeman then plated Pages on an RBI single to left field.
The Mets went scoreless in the bottom half of the eighth, and the middle of the Dodgers order tied the game in the ninth. With runners on the corners and no outs, Chris Taylor laid down a bunt that scored Teoscar Hernández to tie the game at 2-2.
Taylor reached first base safely to leave runners on first and second with no out. But a Heyward strikeout and a Pages double-play ball ended the inning with no more runs, setting up the Mets for a potential walkoff win.
Mets fail to score after loading bases in ninth
They had a golden opportunity. The Mets loaded the bases with one out against reliever Daniel Hudson. Pete Alonso reached base on a leadoff single. After a Brandon Nimmo strikeout, J.D. Martinez made it runners on first and second with a single to center field.
Hudson then walked Harrison Bader to load the bases with one out. He almost walked in the winning run, yielding a 3-0 count to Tyrone Taylor. But Taylor popped up for the second out of the inning. Jeff McNeil then popped up to end the inning, setting the top of the Dodgers order up for their 10th-inning heroics.
Freeman was he hero for the Dodgers, plating their first run of the day then putting the game out of reach with his 10th-inning home run. He finished the day 3 for 5 at the plate with the home run and three RBI.
Tyler Glasnow pitched seven two-run innings for the Dodgers with Franciso Lindor’s two-run home run in the third accounting for all of New York’s runs. Hudson was credited with the win, while Blake Treinen earned a save with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th.
