Mets survive late Dodgers rally to open series with 10-inning win
LOS ANGELES — The Mets resumed the big boy portion of the schedule Monday night to the same success they enjoyed on the last homestand.
No, these weren’t the White Sox and Rockies.
These were the defending World Series champion Dodgers (who had already lost a series at Citi Field just over a week ago) and the Mets were up for the challenge on the road.
Mostly, it was manager Carlos Mendoza’s pitchers who responded — with late help from the lineup — in a 4-3 victory in 10 innings at Dodger Stadium that extended the Mets’ winning streak to four games.
“We know [the Dodgers] are good, but it’s still June,” Mendoza said. “We come here with the mentality of win a series. It’s not like we’re looking at the calendar and looking at this specific series. We’re playing the team that is in front of us.”
The Mets’ victory was their third in four games against the Dodgers, sandwiched around a 5-1 stretch against simply awful White Sox and Rockies teams.
But this one came with a possible casualty: Mark Vientos fell leaving the batter’s box in the 10th inning and limped off the field with right hamstring discomfort.
Vientos received treatment on the leg afterward and said he was unsure if he would receive an MRI exam.
Vientos walked with a limp as he departed the clubhouse.
After Edwin Díaz, working for the third time in four days, blew the save by allowing a run in the ninth, the Mets rebounded against lefty fireballer Tanner Scott in the 10th inning.
Francisco Alvarez delivered a go-ahead double, scoring the automatic runner, before Francisco Lindor’s RBI single extended the lead.
It was a needed contribution from the slumping Alvarez.
“That was huge,” Lindor said. “[Alvarez] has been working extremely hard. … His at-bats were quality at-bats and behind the plate he was really good.”
Jose Castillo surrendered a run in the bottom of the 10th before Jose Butto got the final two outs, with the tying run in scoring position and winning run at first.
Diaz, who hadn’t allowed an earned run in his previous 13 appearances dating to April 23, stumbled in the ninth, allowing singles to Tommy Edman and Hyeseong Kim before Shohei Ohtani’s sacrifice fly tied it 2-2.
In his first appearance for the Mets since last August, veteran Paul Blackburn delivered five shutout innings in which he allowed three hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Some of Blackburn’s best work came against Ohtani, who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against the right-hander.
Blackburn, who was inserted as a sixth starter, will likely head to the bullpen, according to Mendoza.
Blackburn was removed at 77 pitches after retiring Ohtani for the final out in the fifth with the tying runs on base.
Huascar Brazobán, Max Kranick and Ryne Stanek got it to the ninth inning before Diaz allowed the tying run.
Lindor homered on Dustin May’s second pitch of the night to get the Mets started.
It was the sixth leadoff homer this season for Lindor, who went deep twice in Friday’s victory over the Rockies.
This one exploded off his bat at 106.6 mph and landed in the right field seats, traveling 417 feet.
“After Lindor hit that homer to start the game, the biggest thing was how can I get them back in the dugout?” Blackburn said. “Just keep momentum on our side.”
Max Muncy drew a leadoff walk in the second but was erased on Michael Conforto’s double play grounder.
Conforto, a former Mets outfielder, began the night with a dismal .602 OPS after arriving to the Dodgers last winter on a one-year contract worth $17 million.
Blackburn allowed a leadoff single to Teoscar Hernandez in the fourth but escaped by retiring the next three batters, including Muncy to end the inning on a drive to deep center.
The Mets wasted a scoring chance in the top of the inning, after Juan Soto hit a bloop double to left and May drilled Pete Alonso.
With one out, Jared Young hit into a fielder’s choice before Brett Baty struck out swinging on a full-count sweeper after working ahead in the count 3-0.
May danced off the mound in celebration.
Brandon Nimmo’s RBI double in the fifth extended the lead to 2-0, but the Mets left the bases loaded: after Soto was intentionally walked with runners on second and third, May retired Alonso on a fly to right.
The rally started with consecutive one-out singles by Jeff McNeil and Alvarez.
Alonso fumbled Edman’s grounder for an error in the fifth and Kim delivered a two-out single before Blackburn retired Ohtani, on a grounder, for the third time in as many plate appearances.
Brazobán struck out Edman with the bases loaded to conclude the sixth.
Brazobán allowed a single to Freddie Freeman and walks to Muncy and Conforto in the inning before getting to swing and miss on a 1-2 changeup.
Ohtani unloaded in the seventh with a solo homer against Kranick that pulled the Dodgers within 2-1.
Ohtani’s homer was his 23rd of the season, tying him for the MLB lead with Seattle’s Cal Raleigh.
Ohtani blasted two homers against the Yankees on Friday.
