LOS ANGELES – The Mets tried to accomplish a series split against the Dodgers by doing something old and doing something new. The old: rallying late, coming back and taking the lead. The new: Buck Showalter using his closer in the eighth inning, rather than the ninth, to face the three best hitters at the top of the Dodgers order. That decision didn’t exactly work, but the Mets beat the Dodgers, 5-4, in 10 innings anyway thanks to timely hitting from J.D. Davis.
Edwin Diaz protected a two-run Mets lead when Showalter flipped the script and called on his closer for the eighth inning. Diaz was lights out, inducing fly outs to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman before freezing Trea Turner on a slider inside. In an unusual sight, Diaz walked off the mound and into the dugout rather than high-fiving his catcher after a shutout inning.
There was more work to be done, still. Setup man Seth Lugo had the ninth, and he promptly coughed up a leadoff home run to Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who parked an opposite-field tater to right field and cut the Mets’ lead to one measly little run. Lugo couldn’t hold on. He surrendered a double to Chris Taylor and an RBI single to Eddy Alvarez as the Dodgers tied the game and sent it to extra innings.
