Field Level Media
Jun 22, 2018
Cody Bellinger crushed a grand slam to snap a scoreless tie in the sixth inning Friday night and lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-2 win over the host New York Mets at Citi Field.
The Dodgers snapped a two-game losing streak and won for the seventh time in 10 games. The Mets have lost four straight and 16 of their last 20.
The Dodgers got just two baserunners into scoring position in the first five innings against Mets starter Zack Wheeler. But Wheeler got into immediate trouble in the sixth, when he walked the first two batters he faced, Joc Pederson and Max Muncy.
Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo made a sliding catch of a liner by Justin Turner, after which Matt Kemp singled to load the bases. Bellinger followed by launching an 0-2 pitch well into the second deck in right field. The blast was the first in 10 games for Bellinger, who preceded his drought by homering in four straight games from June 5-8.
The homer put Alex Wood (3-5) in line for the win. He allowed two runs -- on Jose Bautista's two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth -- on six hits and one walk while striking out seven over six innings.
The Mets threatened against Scott Alexander in the eighth, when Asdrubal Cabrera raced from first to third on an error by the second baseman Muncy. But Bautista hit into an inning-ending double play on the next pitch.
Yasiel Puig added an insurance run with a solo homer in the ninth and finished with two hits.
Kenley Jansen threw a perfect ninth inning for his 19th save.
Wheeler (2-6) allowed four runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven over seven innings.
The homer was the first in a Mets uniform for Bautista, who had two hits.
The series is scheduled to resume Saturday night, when Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is expected to be activated from the disabled list to start against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. Kershaw, who has been out since June 1 due to a back injury, was supposed to make a rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City, but with bad weather in the midwest, the Dodgers chose to bring him straight to the majors.
--Field Level Media