Dodgers rally late to hand Mets seventh straight loss

World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and rookie Nolan McLean went head-to-head through seven innings, before Kyle Tucker delivered a go-ahead hit in the eighth inning to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night, handing New York its seventh consecutive loss.

The Mets have now been outscored 36-10 during the losing streak, dropping to the bottom of the NL East standings with a 7-11 record, News.Az reports, citing AP.

Tucker’s two-strike single to left field came off reliever Brooks Raley (0-1), bringing home pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas, who had drawn a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice by pinch-hitter Santiago Espinal.

Shohei Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 48 consecutive games after drawing an intentional walk in the eighth inning. He finished the night 0-for-3.

Yamamoto, the 27-year-old right-hander, allowed just one run on four hits over 7 2/3 innings, throwing 104 pitches. He struck out seven and issued one walk. Alex Vesia closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning, striking out the side to secure his second save as the game concluded in just 2 hours and 3 minutes.

McLean, 24, was equally impressive, giving up one run on two hits across seven innings while recording eight strikeouts and two walks. He has now allowed two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his first 12 major league appearances.

Francisco Lindor opened the scoring with a home run on Yamamoto’s third pitch of the game, launching a 95 mph fastball deep into the right field pavilion for his first RBI of the season. The homer snapped the Mets’ 20-inning scoreless drought.

Yamamoto then retired 20 straight batters until Bo Bichette doubled with two outs in the seventh inning.

In the eighth, Yamamoto recorded two quick outs before allowing consecutive singles by Carson Benge and Lindor. Reliever Blake Treinen (1-0) struck out Luis Robert Jr. on a called third strike that stood after an unsuccessful challenge.

Earlier, Freddie Freeman drove in a run with a groundout in the first inning, scoring Tucker, who had reached base via a walk.

Looking ahead, the Mets are set to send right-hander Clay Holmes (2-1, 1.50 ERA) to the mound in Wednesday’s series finale against Dodgers right-hander Ohtani (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev