Dodgers capitalize on Mets mistakes for another series win

NEW YORK –– The Dodgers beat the Mets at Citi Field again on Saturday.

And this time, their hosts offered them plenty of help.

On a night Yoshinobu Yamamoto grinded through six innings of one-run ball, and Kyle Tucker opened the scoring by clanking his second home run in as many days off the right-field foul pole in the third inning, the Mets made sure to give the Dodgers just enough breathing room in their 4-3 win, committing a comedy of errors after Tucker’s homer in the third to leave themselves too big a hole to climb out of it.

With one out in the inning, a Dalton Rushing single was followed by a ground ball from Shohei Ohtani that could have gone for a double-play. First baseman Brett Baty, however, couldn’t avoid Rushing with his throw to second, grazing the catcher’s helmet to send the ball ricocheting into the outfield.

Andy Pages came up next and hit another potential double-play grounder to Baty, who this time managed to complete his throw to second base. But as Francisco Lindor zipped the ball back across the diamond, pitcher Nolan McLean couldn’t find the bag while trying to cover first, allowing a run to score and the inning to continue.

With Max Muncy at the plate two batters later, McLean threw an outside sweeper that catcher Francisco Alvarez flat-up booted behind the plate. The ball bounced out of his glove and skipped away from the plate. Pages scored standing up to make it a 3-0 game. 

Come the end of the night, those extra runs would be crucial.

While Yamamoto tip-toed in and out of danger in his five-hit, three-walk outing –– stranding two runners on base three different times –– the Dodgers bullpen nearly coughed up what had become a 4-1 lead after Andy Pages and Bo Bichette traded RBI singles in the fifth.

In the eighth, Edgardo Henriquez hit his first batter then walked the next. While he followed that with back-to-back strikeouts, he could only watch from the dugout as Tanner Scott relieved him and yielded a two-run double to pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor.

For the briefest of moments, hope was pulsating through Queens again.

Alas, the middling Mets couldn’t complete the comeback, with Scott striking out AJ Ewing to escape the eighth and Brock Stewart getting his first save of the season in the ninth.

What it means

The Dodgers (67-38) clinched another series win on Saturday, making it three-for-three coming out of the All-Star break on this East Coast swing against the Yankees, Phillies and Mets.

Now, the Dodgers will go for their first series sweep in a month, trying to finish the nine-game road trip with a 7-2 record in Sunday’s series finale.

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Who’s hot

Of the many problems that have plagued Tucker’s mediocre debut season with the Dodgers, a lack of power had been near the top of the list.

Before this weekend, the $240 million slugger had hit only seven home runs all season. Going back to April 19, he had just four long balls in 76 games, posting a .348 slugging percentage over that stretch.

In this series, however, Tucker has gone deep in back-to-back games for the first time this year, following up a key two-run blast late in Friday’s win by sending his solo blast Saturday high off the foul pole.

“There’s some times where I like to see the ball coming in, put a swing on it, and I can visualize the ball coming off the bat and doing what I want with it, but it doesn’t really go that way, which is a little frustrating,” Tucker said Friday night, when asked about his lack of power. “But at the same time, I just gotta battle for the next pitch and just continue on with the at-bat.”

This weekend, that approach has finally led to some encouraging results.

Who’s not

Henriquez had the best month of his young career in June, giving up just two runs in 11 appearances while striking out 14 batters and –– most importantly –– walking only two.

Since then, however, the flame-throwing right-hander’s command issues have returned.

In his last seven outings, he has issued seven walks, plus his hit batter on Saturday. He has also given up three earned runs in that stretch. Still, his ERA on the season remains just 2.81. 

Up next

The Dodgers’ two-week road trip will finally come to an end on Sunday, when Emmet Sheehan (4-7, 5.13 ERA) faces right-hander Freddy Peralta (5-9, 5.01 ERA).