Dodgers Recap: Dodgers take wacky marathon from Mets in 13

QUEENS, NY — Blame it on the Rain, as Milli Vanilli used to say. In a wet and weird opening of the Dodgers’ road trip, the Dodgers had to go to a “Plan B” bullpen game after a rain delay. Then after a blown save by Tanner Scott, finally prevailed, beating the Mets by a score of 7 to 5 in an extra-inning game that featured not one, but two deep cuts from MLB rulebook.

Clayton Kershaw opened the game for the Dodgers, but alas, his night was cut short by a nearly-two-hour rain delay. Nevertheless, Kersh acuqitted himself nicely after his rough first start of the year against the Angels. He went just the 2.0 innings, but gave up no hits and only surrendered a leadoff walk to Francisco Lindor to besmirch his scorecard. The final line for the night: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.

THen came the pivotal third inning. The top of the frame was cut short by the rain, but before that happened the Dodgers got runners to second and third, thanks to a wacky, juggling catch in right by Tyrone Taylor. There was controversy on the field about whether or not Michael Conforto left second base early on his tag up (he didn’t), but after much discussion, he was awarded third base and Shohei Ohtani slid in safely to second. Then came the downpour. An hour and thirty seven minutes later, Freddie Freeman stepped to the plate with a 3-1 count against new pitcher Max Kranick. Kranick promptly delivered ball four and the bases were juiced with Dodgers.

That brought up Will Smith, who continues to be a monster with runners in scoring position. He hit a ground ball into the hole and easily beat Lindor’s throw from shortstop. That gave the Dodgers their first run of the game. Teoscar Hernandez was next up and picked up where he had left off on Thursday, delivering a clutch two-out RBI single to score two more runs.

The Dodgers gave a run back in the bottom of the inning when new pitcher Matt Sauer gave up a solo shot to third baseman Brett Baty, but beyond that Sauer was just what the doctor ordered. He gave up one more run, this time in the fifth, when Max Muncy got dinged on an obstruction call for supposedly blocking Starling Marte‘s line of sight on a fly ball to right field. Muncy strolled in front of the bag as Marte was preparing to tag, and got caught by third base umpire Tripp Gibson. Pity, because it absolutely erased a fantastic throw from Teoscar Hernandez to the plate. Ughh. That run allowed would come back to haunt the Dodgers by the end of the night.

However, the Dodgers got the Marte run back immediately as well, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, putting together a sweet two-out rally. After a walk and a HBP, Max Muncy and Andy Pages both contributed run-scoring singles which gave the Dodgers a little breathing room as the game headed into its late stages.

Those late stages proved a whole lot longer than anyone anticipated. Let’s walk through the nail-biting final innings of one of the wildest games of the year. Up 5–2, the Dodgers turned to Tanner Scott to secure the win. But the Mets had other plans.

Starling Marte led off with a single, and after a Juan Soto flyout, Pete Alonso walked to bring the tying run to the plate. Jeff McNeil lashed a two-run triple down the right field line, making it a one-run game and electrifying the Citi Field crowd. Tyrone Taylor followed with a game-tying single to left, and just like that, it was 5–5.

Alex Vesia came in to stop the bleeding, but the Mets weren’t done. Brett Baty singled, and both he and Taylor advanced on defensive indifference. With the winning run on second, Luisangel Acuña struck out (on a questionable check swing call) to send the game to extras

In the top of the tenth, the Dodgers loaded the bases with no outs against Edwin Díaz—Mookie Betts started on second, Freddie Freeman was hit by a pitch, and Will Smith walked. But Teoscar Hernández grounded into a force at the plate, and Max Muncy bounced into a 6-4-3 double play. A golden chance vanished into the misty New York air.

In the bottom of the tenth, Vesia struck out Lindor, then gave way to Lou Trivino. After hitting Marte, Trivino induced a grounder from Soto that moved both runners up. With the winning run at third, Pete Alonso flied out to deep centerfield. On to the eleventh.

Each team had their shots in the next inning. The Dodgers couldn’t score despite getting Tommy Edman to third. In the bottom half, Anthony Banda and Luis García combined to escape a bases-loaded jam.

In the 12th,

Kiké Hernández made two huge plays at third—throwing out Marte on a bunt and starting an inning-ending double play to erase the threat. The double play came with the always-fun five infielders defense, but damned if it didn’t work. Backup catcher Luis Torrens hit the ball right to Kiké, and he went around the horn to end the inning Whew!

Finally, in the 13th, somebody decided to win the game. Will Smith started the inning at second. Teoscar Hernández ripped a double down the left field line to bring him home, giving the Dodgers a 6–5 lead. Moments later, after failing to get a bunt down, Hyeseong Kim singled to put runners on the corners. Andy Pages then hit a sac fly to right, scoring Teoscar—but the Mets got Kim out at first for a rare sacrifice fly double play. Still, it was 7–5. The only question was whether or not the depleted Dodger pen could shut the door on the Metropolitans.

In the bottom of the 13th, Luis Torrens started at second, but Luis Garcia showed Dodger fans a little grit in this one. Pitching in his third inning of work, he sent the Mets down in order. And Tommy Edman—playing center after a late-inning position shuffle—took charge. He tracked down a fly ball from McNeil, then after an infield out, made a great play on a sharp liner from Alvarez to end it. Double Whew!

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Final Thoughts

The Dodgers’ bullpen may be battered, but their will isn’t. A game that started with a sense of command turned into a street fight—and L.A. answered the bell each time. Credit Enrique Hernández’s defense, Teoscar’s clutch bat, and a deep cast of arms who held it together in hostile territory.

With 25 more games against winning teams in the next four weeks, this win wasn’t just dramatic—it was essential.

Bring on the next test. Which will be on Saturday on Fox. It’s going to be Tony Gonsolin, who’s looked better than his 4.05 ERA, up against David Peterson. (2-2, 2.86 ERA, 47 SO). The Dodgers will need some length out of Gonsolin, and don’t be surprised if there’s a move to get a fresh arm into the pen.

Not an ideal way to start a road trip. But it’s a heck of a lot better than a loss.

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