Dodgers Beat Up Mets, Complete Weekend Sweep
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Max Muncy hit a pair of two-run homers and Max Scherzer worked out of some trouble over six solid innings Sunday night, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 14-4 rout of the New York Mets and a sweep of the three-game series.
The Dodgers, who have gone 10-4 since acquiring Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals on July 30, trail the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants by four games. Los Angeles is six games ahead of the second wild card, the San Diego Padres.
Muncy homered in the second off Carlos Carrasco and in the sixth off Yennsy Diaz. In between, he flew out to the warning track in center in the fourth against Jake Reed. The two-homer game was the second of the season for Muncy, who went deep twice against the Colorado Rockies on July 17. It was the seventh multi-homer game of his career.
Scherzer (10-4) took the mound with a 3-0 lead thanks to a two-run homer by former Mets utilityman Justin Turner and a solo shot by Will Smith, who homered in all three games. The Dodgers doubled the lead in the second on an RBI double by Turner, immediately before Muncy's first homer.
Scherzer allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. The Mets had at least two runners on base in each of the first four innings, but went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position against Scherzer, who limited the damage to run-scoring groundouts by Jeff McNeil in the third and Michael Conforto in the fourth.
Scherzer helped his cause by lofting a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
The Mets, down 9-2 when Scherzer exited, scored twice in the seventh when Brandon Nimmo raced home on a wild pitch and J.D. Davis, batting with the bases loaded, flew out to the wall in center. But Edwin Uceta struck out Jonathan Villar. New York finished the series 3 for 30 with runners in scoring position.
With the remnants of the crowd of 31,205 chanting "Let's go Dodgers," Los Angeles scored three times in the eighth on a two-run single by Smith and an RBI double by Chris Taylor. The Dodgers scored twice in the ninth when Matt Beaty hit a two-run homer off Mets outfielder Brandon Drury. Fellow outfielder Kevin Pillar got the final out.
Carrasco (0-1) gave up six runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts over two innings.
A NIGHT OF FIRSTS
Scherzer's sacrifice fly was the first of his career, as well as his first RBI since May 27, 2019. In the eighth, reliever Edwin Uceta batted for himself and legged out an infield single for his first career hit.
When Drury and Pillar combined to throw the ninth, it marked the first time the Mets have used two position players as pitchers in the same game.
REED ALL ABOUT IT
Reed relieved Carrasco to start the third and tossed three scoreless innings. He is the 60th player to appear in a game this season for the Mets, extending the single-season franchise record. The previous record was 56 players, set in 2018, The major league record is held by the 2019 Seattle Mariners, who used 67 players.
Reed also became the sixth Reed to appear in a game for the Mets, joining Darren (1990), Rick (1997-2001), Steve (2002), Jeremy (2009) and Addison (2015-17). Reed is tied for the fourth-most common Mets surname with Wilson, behind Johnson and Jones (eight) and Smith (seven).
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: 3B Justin Turner (left groin) returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Aug. 8. … LHP Clayton Kershaw (elbow) is scheduled to play catch Monday.
Mets: SS Francisco Lindor (right oblique) swung from the right side and made some diving stops while fielding grounders Sunday afternoon. Manager Luis Rojas said Lindor will travel to the West Coast with the Mets and could either play a simulated game or begin a rehab assignment during the road trip. … RHP Noah Syndergaard (Tommy John surgery) could soon throw to batters.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: A bullpen game is planned Monday for the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Roberts said the Dodgers would likely make a couple moves involving the pitching staff prior to Monday's game.
Mets: LHP Rich Hill (6-4, 4.05 ERA) will start the opener of a three-game series at the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
