The New York Mets enjoyed their first game at Dodger Stadium since defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the 2015 National League Division Series by taking the opener of a four-game set. The Dodgers looked to rebound Tuesday night behind Alex Wood, who was opposed by Jacob deGrom.
Juan Lagares led off the game with a line drive to right field, but was robbed of a base hit by a Yasiel Puig diving catch. It was the second consecutive night Puig took a hit away from Lagares. Wood went on to end a 1-2-3 first inning with a strikeout of David Wright.
Chase Utley lined a leadoff double to the left-center field gap, and Corey Seager followed suit to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead. Seager advanced to third base on a Justin Turner grounder, then scored on Adrian Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly.
The Mets answered in the top of the second as consecutive singles and an error by Utley cut the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1. Kevin Plawecki then hit an RBI single tying the game with no outs in the inning. Wood managed to limit the damage by retiring the next three hitters he faced.
Another left-handed hitter doubled to left-center off deGrom to begin the bottom of the second, with Joc Pederson joining doing the honors. However, Pederson was stranded as deGrom worked his way out of the inning on a groundout and two strikeouts.
CONTINUE READING: Trayce Thompson delivers with pinch-hit walk-off home run
After Gonzalez pulled a two-out single into right field in the bottom of the third, Yasmani Grandal doubled down the right field line to put runners on second and third. deGrom again escaped the jam by catching Pederson looking for strike three.
Wood retired the Mets in order in the top of the fourth, ending the inning with his fourth strikeout of the game. The Dodgers didn’t fare much better in the bottom half, stranding Wood after he lined a two-out single to center.
Wood continued to pitch well in the fifth, collecting back-to-back strikeouts. He then picked Lagares off first base after allowing a two-out base hit. Some luck was on the Dodgers’ side as Lagares got back in time, but slipped on the base while Gonzalez applied the tag.
The only bit of noise from the Dodgers in the bottom of the fifth inning came on a Gonzalez drive to center field that hit off the top of the fence. However, Yoenis Cespedes easily threw Gonzalez out on his attempt at a double.
Wood worked around a two-out walk in the sixth inning and ran his strikeout total to eight up to that point. deGrom retired Grandal, Pederson and Puig in the bottom of the sixth to keep the game locked in a 2-2 tie.
Wood struck out Michael Conforto to start the seventh, then gave way to Louis Coleman, who struck out the two batters faced. Pedro Baez found himself in trouble after allowing a one-out single in the eighth and hitting a batter.
He worked himself out if with a strikeout of Wright and Cespedes force out. Seager hit a ground-rule double to open the bottom of the eighth, which was followed by Antonio Bastardo intentionally walking Turner.
The decision nearly paid off as Gonzalez hit a grounder to Wright, who stepped on third base, but his throw to first was late. Grandal made solid contact only for his fly ball to be caught on the warning track in left field, and Pederson rolled a grounder over to first base to end the inning.
Trayce Thompson pinch-hit for Kenley Jansen in the bottom of the ninth and connected for a two-out walk-off home run.