Well Worth The Wait: Scherzer Superb, Mets Win It In Extras

Pete Alonso at bat in the fourth inning under clearing skies. Photo by Jason Schott.

 

The Mets salvaged the final game of their weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1, in ten innings, on Sunday evening at Citi Field.

The achievement in itself was that they played this game, as it was moved back from its original 1:40 p.m. first pitch to 5:10, and ultimately, 5:30. The official rain delay on the game was 20 minutes.

Max Scherzer was superb, as he went seven innings and allowed just one hit and three walks, with six strikeouts. His record remains at 8-3 and he lowered his ERA (earned run average) to 3.99.

Max Scherzer pitching to Mookie Betts in the fourth inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

The only hit the Dodgers could muster off him was a cue shot down the third base line by Jason Heyward with two outs in the second inning. Since it went all the way to the wall and third baseman Brett Baty had to retrieve it, Heyward tried to sneak into second base, and he was thrown out. It was costly for Heyward as he collided with Jeff McNeil trying to evade the tag, and took a minute or so to get up, and eventually he would leave in the fourth innin with neck soreness.

The Dodgers' best chance against Scherzer came in the fourth when Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman each drew walks, but Scherzer struck out Max Muncy, got J.D. Martinez to pop out to first base, and David Peralta to fly out to center field.

Meanwhile, the Mets were only able to get a pair of hits off Dodgers starter Bobby Miller in the first four innings before they rallied in the fifth.

Starling Marte, who was back in the lineup after suffering through a brutal headache that kept him out of Sunday's game, hit a cue shot to first base that got to Freeman's left to open the frame.

Baty then struck out, but Marte stole second base on what was strike three. Mark Canha then was hit by a pitch and Omar Narvaez, getting a rare start at catcher, drew a walk to load the bases.

Brandon Nimmo then lined one back up the box that Miller knocked down, and he only was able to retire Nimmo at first base instead of turning a double play, so Marte came on in to make it 1-0 Mets.

The trainer came to look at Miller, who took it off the palm of his glove, and Captain Hook, Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts, followed and pulled Miller from the game. It would have been a shock to see him pull his starter after 77 pitches if he didn't pull Tony Gonsolin after just 54 pitches on Saturday night.

Brusdar Graterol came on and got Lindor to ground out to shortstop to end the inning.

Scherzer responded by going six up, six down in the next two innings before he yielded to Trevor Gott in the eighth.

The Dodgers greeted Gott with a walk from James Outman and a single from Miguel Rojas, and after Will Smith flew out to right field, Betts singled in Outman to tie the game at 1.

Left-hander Brooks Raley was next out of the Mets bullpen to face lefties Freeman and Muncy, and playing the match-ups worked. Freeman grounded one to first base for a force out and Muncy popped out to third base to end the frame.

The Mets then turned to their closer David Robertson for the ninth, where he worked around a Chris Turner double, and then he pitched a perfect tenth inning.

After Graterol closed out the sixth, the Mets couldn't get anything going against the Dodgers bullpen, as Ryan Brasier pitched a perfect sixth, Phil Bickford a scoreless seventh, Alex Vesia a 1-2-3 eighth, and their closer Evan Phillips worked around a Daniel Vogelbach single in the ninth.

With Brett Baty as the "ghost runner" at second base, Nick Robertson came on for the 10th, and Luis Guillorme was sent up as a pinch-hitter for Canha, and he singled to right field to bring in Baty to give the Mets the 2-1 walk-off win.

Robertson got the win for the Mets to improve to 4-2, while Robertson took the loss for the Dodgers to fall to 0-1, and it was also his first career decision.

The Mets improved to 43-50, and broke a four-game losing streak, and they will have a day off before they host the Chicago White Sox starting on Tuesday night.