Mets Win Extra Inning Thriller vs. Dodgers

If this was a preview of coming attractions come October, than Mets vs. Dodgers is going to be a classic. For four days the Mets and Dodgers went toe-to-toe, and each night the games were compelling and close. What would one expect when the National League’s two best teams square off?

Sunday was no exception as the Mets stormed back twice to win 5-4 in ten innings.

The Mets trailed 2-1 for most of the afternoon, until rallying in the eighth inning against Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol. Francisco Lindor got things started the proceedings with a ground rule double to right, and scored on a Pete Alonso’s double down the left field line, tying the game at two.

After Mark Canha was hit by a pitch, Eduardo Escobar lined a pitch to deep right that was caught at the warning track, deep enough to allow Alonso to score the go-ahead run. The Mets would tack on when Tomas Nido lined a single up the middle, platting Canha with the second run of the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Buck Schowalter decided to gamble, and trotted out closer Edwin Diaz to face the Dodgers top of the order. Despite wild control, Diaz found a way to retire Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner in order to preserve the Mets slim 4-2 lead.

The bottom of the ninth inning was  a different story. Seth Lugo was brought in to close the game out, and he just couldn’t do it. Will Smith homered to cut the Mets lead to 4-3. Lugo would retire both Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger on ground outs, and needed just one more out against Eddy Alvarez, but the rookie lined a single through the middle, scoring Chris Taylor, who had doubled, tying the game at four.

Even with the Dodgers late inning rally, the Mets never gave up on themselves. JD Davis lined a double that saw the ball bounce away from a diving Chris Taylor in right, allowing Pete Alonso to trudge around third and score the go-ahead run. The Mets would take that slim 5-4 lead in to the bottom half of the tenth where rookie Adonis Medina made a name for himself by working around a bogus catcher’s interference call to retire the Dodgers and preserve the victory.

The win gives the Mets the best record in the National League. Lost in the victory was the virtuoso performance by starting pitcher Trevor Williams who held the Dodgers to just a pair of runs over five innings of work.

How big was this win for the Mets? To be honest, it felt like a playoff game!