Bellinger’s double wins it in ten

NEW YORK — Wooboy! In another thrilling nail-biter, the Dodgers came away a winner in extra innings for the second straight night. In a game that was marked by superior starting pitching on both sides, the Dodgers managed to push a run across in the top of the tenth inning and beat the Mets by a score of 2-1, thanks to a run-scoring double from Cody Bellinger.

Walker vs. Walker in NYC

Taijuan Walker was the Mets starter tonight, and going into the game it was an open question as to which Taijuan the Dodgers were going to see. Would it be the dominant pitcher who had a sub-3.00 ERA in the first half of the season? Or, would it be the pitcher who has struggled mightily since the All-Star break, posting the highest ERA among starters in the league? Unfortunately for the Dodgers, it was Taijuan Walker #1.

Buehler surrenders only one run

However, Walker Buehler is not exactly a slouch himself. He entered the game with a league-leading 2.13 ERA. Buehler was sharp most of the game. The only hiccup on the night was a home run from Michael Conforto in the fourth inning. The shot to right barely cleared the glove of the leaping Billy McKinney to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Will Smith does it again!

However, the Dodgers were able to match that run a couple of innings later, when Will Smith continued his clutch hitting ways. In the top of the seventh, he blasted a monster home run into the second deck in left field to tie the game and break up what had been a no-hitter from Walker. It was Smith’s second straight night with a late-inning homer, and got Buehler off the hook on what could have been a hard-luck loss.

Buehler’s clutch seventh

Buehler was running on fumes, but he came out for the seventh inning. Because of all the bullpen use of late, four relievers (Jansen, Treinen, Graterol, and Bruihl) were unavailable, so Dave Roberts had to squeeze everything he could out of the pitchers he had. In the seventh, Buehler quickly found himself in a jam. He gave up a single to JD Davis that deflected off his foot, and then walked Jonathon Villar. Suddenly, there were two on and nobody out.

But as anyone who has watched Buetane over the last few years knows, this is where the Dodgers’ ace shines. He went straight to work, and even though he was hovering around 100 pitches, he found a reserve to draw on. First, he struck out Tomas Nido on three pitches. Then, he caught pinch-hitter Travis Blankenhorn napping to throw a center-cut fast ball for strike three.

With two outs, Buehler had one more batter to face: leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo. Buehler fell behind 3-1, but got a foul ball from Nimmo to get back into the count. Then, he induced a high pop foul to the left side. Catcher Will Smith chased it down and caught it just before the railing of the Dodgers dugout. Buehler had done it again. He headed from the dugout with the game still tied 1-1. Though he did walk four, Buehler’s line for the night was classic Walker Buehler: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 10 K.

Vesia & Bickford send the game to extras

Of course, there was still the issue of winning the game. The Dodgers and Mets traded perfect innings in the eighth and ninth, the Dodgers getting particularly strong relief outings from both Alex Vesia and Phil Bickford. And so the game went into extra frames, knotted at a run apiece.

Cody rips a double to score wining run

Corey Seager was the free runner for the Dodgers in the top of the tenth. The usually reliable Chris Taylor opened up the inning with a strikeout and failed to advance the runner, so it looked like the typical playbook for the Dodgers in extras. However, the resurgent Cody Bellinger came through with a big hit.

Having just missed extra bases in his previous at bat with a foul ball down the line, Belli sized up a pitch a bit better this time around. He ripped a ball past Pete Alonso at first that caromed wildly into right field. Seager came around to score easily and Bellinger ended up at second with a clutch double. The Dodgers couldn’t find a way to push Bellinger across, so the inning ended with the Dodgers clinging to a 2-1.

Bickford for the win, Knebel the save

Having only thrown five pitches in the ninth, Phil Bickford came out for the top of the tenth. He got two quick strikeouts from James McCann and Brandon Drury, but was lifted in favor of Corey Knebel for the last out of the game. The move made sense. Knebel handles lefties much better than Bickford, who is becoming more of a specialist to get the righthanders out. Knebel did his job. He got Brandon Nimmo to hit a weak grounder to first that Albert Pujols scooped up and tossed to Knebel for the final out of another exhilarating game.

Dodgers bring out the brooms for Sunday

The Dodgers, now 71-46, pick up a game on the Giants, who lost at home to the Rockies on Saturday night. Having already won four games on this road trip, the boys in blue go for a sweep of the Mets on Sunday. Max Scherzer takes to the mound. He should be well-rested, as his start in Philadelphia was cut short by rain. Scherzer knows these Mets hitters well, given all his time pitching with the Nationals in the NL East, so he should be very aware of where the outs are in this Mets lineup. He matches up against Carlos Carrasco, who has seen limited duty this season due to injury. The game will be an ESPN exclusive tomorrow, 4:10 pm start.