New York Mets Survive to Split Series With Dodgers in Wild Extra Inning Win
LOS ANGELES - After squandering away a two-run lead following their eighth inning rally, the Mets fought back to escape L.A. with a series split by the skin of their teeth.
Despite a blown save by Seth Lugo, who surrendered two runs in the ninth after closer Edwin Diaz handled the top of the order in a rare eighth inning appearance, the Mets were able to hang on in extra innings at Dodger Stadium - thanks to Adonis Medina.
J.D. Davis' RBI double off Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel put the Mets back ahead in the top of the 10th, which scored ghost runner Pete Alonso.
But with the top of the Dodgers' order coming up in the bottom half, manager Buck Showalter was forced to turn to Medina in a one-run game with the rest of his high-leverage arms unavailable. Impressively, the righty was able to bear down to retire Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith to escape trouble, pick up the save and secure a wild 5-4 win.
"Honestly it's to not think too much," Medina said of his strategy when facing some of the league's best hitters in a tight jam, "and to not really put too much emphasis on the situation. It's go out there and do your job."
"For me, this has been one of the biggest moments of my career," he added. "To have the team have that trust in me to pitch in that big spot, it has really been everything for me. I love being a part of this team."
After dropping the first two games of a four-game set with the mighty Dodgers, the Mets battled back to win the next two in order to come away with a split. Not an easy task given they had to face Walker Buehler and Julio Urias the past two days. More importantly, they proved they can hang with the best, despite not having aces Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.
"(Dodgers) are a really good team," Showalter said, "I'm proud of our guys for battling back after the first couple games. Kind of settled in to the time zone and beat two really good pitchers, too."
"It shows us how good we are," Davis said. "We know we're just as good as them."
Davis delivered the final big hit the Mets would need in this game, putting his team ahead with a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"I was just looking for something to stay inside on," Davis said of his clutch game-winning knock. "I haven't faced Kimbrel all that much so I was trying to figure out his tricky arm slot. Once I got to 2-0, I pretty much lined myself up back at him and caught myself out in front, but was able to stay through it."
The Mets received a strong pitching performance from Trevor Williams - five innings, two earned runs, five strikeouts - but for the third time in four games saw their offense struggle against a left-handed starter, Urias.
However, once Urias exited, the tide began to turn. The Dodgers let the Mets hang around, and it came back to bite them in the top of the eighth inning when New York rallied to take the lead.
"It felt like a chess match," Davis said. "It felt like we were right into it even though we were down."
"Two pitches decided the game, the slider to (Trea) Turner, the changeup to (Starling) Marte. Then it was passing the baton, everyone in the lineup having professional at-bats, getting the job done and playing baseball the right way."
Trailing 2-1, Francisco Lindor ripped a leadoff ground rule double off Brusdar Graterol, before the red-hot Alonso smacked a double of his own to tie things up in the eighth. This was Alonso's 54th RBI of the season, which saw him surpass Jose Ramirez for the most in baseball.
With the game now tied, J.D. Davis moved Alonso to third on a ground ball, before Mark Canha reached on a hit by pitch. That's when Eduardo Escobar worked a 10-pitch at-bat against Graterol, which ended with a go-ahead sacrifice fly, putting the Mets ahead 3-2.
After the Dodgers made a pitching change, Tomas Nido tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single. This proved to make a big difference since Lugo gave up two in the ninth.
New York passed a pretty big test against the Dodgers at less than full strength, but Davis and the rest of the team want the real test to come at the end of the year, as opposed to June.
"Hopefully, the test is more so at the end of the year," Davis said. "I think this was maybe more-so a quiz."
The Mets are a National League best 37-19 on the season and will travel to San Diego to take on the Padres in a three game series beginning on Monday.
Read More:
- Pete Alonso Continues Historic Pace After Career-Best Month
- How Mets' Brandon Nimmo is Adjusting to Playing Through Wrist Injury
- Jacob deGrom Throws First Bullpen Session Since Injury
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