Steve Webb
Game 56, 5/28/2024 (game one): Dodgers 5, Mets 2
NEW YORK, NY — This one felt good! After a five-game losing streak, any win would have been welcome, but when the team crawls out of an offensive coma to tie the Mets and then pass them in extra innings, it’s especially sweet. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman were the extra innings heroes, but there was plenty of credit to go around in the Dodgers’ 5-2 win over New York in ten innings.
After a Monday rainout, both teams were on the field early at Citi Field for a traditional doubleheader. The first game, played in the afternoon LA time, started out like the Dodgers forgot to leave a wake-up call for their bats. Mets starter Tylor Megill stymied the Dodger hitters for seven innings of scoreless ball. On the other hand, pitching for the Boys in Blue, Tyler Glasnow made but one mistake, a hanging curveball to Frankie Lindor in the bottom of the third inning. Lindor drilled the pitch for a two-run home run to start (and end) the scoring for the Mets. Other than that, Glasnow struggled a bit with command, but didn’t give up much of anything to the Mets. His final line over seven gritty innings: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K.
Meanwhile, the only whiff of scoring for the Dodgers off Megill was a near-miss on a solo home run from Teoscar Hernandez leading off the top of the second. Teo drilled the ball to straightaway center, and it took a near-circus catch from centerfielder Tyrone Taylor to keep the ball in the yard for a double. Unfortunately, the Dodgers inability to hit with runners in scoring position reared its ugly head again, and the next three hitters could do nothing to push the run across, leaving Hernandez stuck at second at the inning’s end.
Throughout the middle of the game, the score remained 2-0 in favor of the Mets as neither pitcher would give up much of anything. Glasnow regained his footing as the game moved on, and McGill never lost his. Between the two starters, only five hits found the green.
But, finally Megill exited the game, and the soft Mets bullpen got exposed big time. In the eighth, it was two would-be double play balls that led to the Dodgers’ first run. Jason Heyward led off by squirting a single through the right side of the infield. Then, Andy Pages busted it down the line on a ground ball, and Francisco Lindor was unable to turn the double play. After Mookie Betts reached on an error from third baseman Brett Baty (another potential double play), Shohei Ohtani came to bat, and once again, he hit a ground ball on the infield. And once again, the Mets were unable to turn two, thanks to the hustle down the line. That gave Freddie Freeman a chance to push one across. And that is just what he did, drilling an opposite field single to score a run.
Then, in the ninth, the Dodgers came through again, this time scoring with some small ball. Teoscar Hernandez and Gavin Lux hit back-to-back singles to open up the inning. That gave the Dodgers a first and third situation with nobody out. Chris Taylor then squared around to lay down a sacrifice bunt. It wasn’t a fantastic bunt, but Mets reliever Adam Ottavino misplayed the ball, and it allowed Hernandez to scamper home. We had ourselves a tie game. The rally would sputter out after that, but it forced the game into the bottom of the ninth.
Daniel Hudson came in the in ninth, and it was a bit of an adventure. Hudson struggled with the strike zone, but somehow managed to get out of a bases-loaded jam and send the game into extras.
The Dodgers didn’t waste any time in the tenth. On the first pitch of extra frames, Mookie Betts ripped a run scoring single to score gifted runner Andy Pages and give the Dodgers the first lead of the game. Then, after an Ohtani strikeout from new reliever Jorge Lopez, Freddie Freeman came up again and came through again. On the first pitch from Lopez, Freeman smashed a four-seamer into the right field seats for two runs worth of insurance.
Blake Treinen came in with his usual filth in the bottom of the tenth, and didn’t give up anything. A strikeout. A flyout. And then, the guy who we thought was going to be the hero, Frankie Lindor, went down swinging to end the game. What a game! What a comeback! Goodbye, losing streak! On to Game 2!
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