Walker Buehler gave the Los Angeles Dodgers needed length with a short bullpen, and it bought their offense time in a 2-1 comeback win in 10 innings against the New York Mets.
Buehler worked around a walk in both the first and second innings, then retired the side in order in the third. He also picked up two quick outs in the fourth inning, only to then surrender a solo home run to Conforto for the first hit in the game.
Buehler later allowed three more hits but wound up getting through seven innings with 10 strikeouts and just the one run allowed. Buehler has gone at least six innings in 23 of 24 starts this season.
His effort was bested by Taijuan Walker, who took the mound having allowed at least three earned runs in five consecutive starts.
Walker retired the first seven batters faced before walking Billy McKinney in the third inning. The right-hander followed that by retiring the next nine batters in a row. The string was snapped by Buehler drawing a walk in the sixth inning that was followed by Trea Turner bouncing into a double play.
One night after watching the Mets rally in the seventh inning, the Dodgers returned the favor. Will Smith tied the game and broke up Walker’s no-hitter with a home run to the second deck in left-center field.
It marked a second consecutive game Smith hit a homer, and in his career, 17 of 40 have now come in the seventh inning or later.
The Mets threatened to break the tie in the bottom of the seventh when a leadoff single was followed by a walk. With his pitch count getting into the triple digits, Buehler struck out the next two batters and retired Brandon Nimmo to escape the jam.
The game went into extra innings for a second straight night, and the Dodgers again took a decided lead in the 10th, this time on Cody Bellinger’s RBI double.
After getting two outs in the ninth inning, Corey Knebel retired the first two batters faced in the 10th. Corey Knebel entered and got the final out to seal the win.
Dodgers streaking in extras
After ending a streak of 11 consecutive losses in extra innings, the Dodgers have now won back-to-back games that went beyond nine frames. Their victory on Friday prevented a tie with the 1969 Montreal Expos for most extra-inning losses in a row.
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