Surging Dodgers Hit 5 Homers As They Beat Mets
NEW YORK (AP) — Yasiel Puig hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning and the thundering Los Angeles Dodgers went deep five times, rallying past the New York Mets 7-4 on Saturday to extend their incredible surge.
Chris Taylor, Justin Turner, Corey Seager and rookie Cody Bellinger also connected for the Dodgers, who are 43-7 since June 7. That's the best 50-game run by a big league team since the 1912 New York Giants compiled the same mark from May 14 to July 3.
Los Angeles has won all but one of its last 13 games, upping the top record in the majors to an astounding 78-32. That puts the Dodgers at 46 games above .500 for the first time since they were 98-51 on Sept. 15, 1962.
That team — led by Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax and NL MVP Maury Wills — didn't even win the pennant after dropping a best-of-three playoff to rival San Francisco. This year's Dodgers are looking to end a World Series drought that dates to the franchise's last championship in 1988.
"It's a wave that we're riding," manager Dave Roberts said. "I know our players and they realize that we haven't done anything yet."
Leadoff man Michael Conforto, Wilmer Flores and Curtis Granderson homered in the first inning off Dodgers lefty Rich Hill, the NL pitcher of the month for July.
Mets starter Seth Lugo held Los Angeles hitless until the fifth, but it didn't last.
Taylor homered leading off the sixth, connecting in a third straight game for the first time in his career. One out later, Turner singled and Bellinger nearly went down to one knee to lift his 31st homer over the right-center fence, tying it at 3.
Puig hit his 21st of the season leading off the seventh against Paul Sewald (0-4), lining a laser shot to left for his second in two games. Turner sent a solo shot to center off Sewald in the eighth, and Seager added a two-run drive into the second deck in right field against Fernando Salas in the ninth.
The five home runs equaled a season high for Los Angeles. Brandon Morrow (4-0) pitched a hitless sixth for the win.
Rene Rivera homered in the bottom of the ninth for the Mets, who have lost six of seven.
New York has dropped eight straight to the Dodgers dating to last year. The Mets have given up 23 homers and been outscored 49-15 in losing all six meetings this season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: LHP Alex Wood is feeling a little bit better every day and his upcoming bullpen session will tell a lot about whether he'll make his next scheduled start, Roberts said. Wood said he felt a little tired after beating Atlanta on Thursday night. The team doesn't want to rush him back out to the mound and risk an injury. "He's as honest with us as anybody," Roberts said. ... RHP Yu Darvish will get an extra day of rest before starting Thursday's series finale at NL West rival Arizona.
Mets: RF-1B Jay Bruce was rested against the lefty. ... New York manager Terry Collins was hoping to give reliever Hansel Robles a second consecutive day off after an MRI came back clean. Robles has some general fatigue, Collins said. The right-hander complained of numbness in his pitching hand and forearm, plus groin discomfort, following Thursday's ninth-inning meltdown at Colorado. ... CF Juan Lagares (broken left thumb) started his fifth rehab game with Double-A Binghamton but had yet to play a full nine innings. He needs to do that once or twice before coming off the disabled list, Collins said.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: The series finale Sunday night features a pair of left-handers on the mound when Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6, 3.83 ERA) starts for Los Angeles against scuffling Steven Matz (2-4, 5.50). Ryu needed only 85 pitches to toss seven scoreless innings last time out against San Francisco. He is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in four career starts vs. the Mets.
Mets: Matz has lost three straight decisions and is 0-2 with a 12.21 ERA in four starts since the All-Star break. He is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three regular-season outings against Los Angeles, all on the road.
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