The Los Angeles Dodgers aim to resume their recent domination of the New York Mets when the two clubs continue a three-game series Wednesday at Citi Field.
The Dodgers have won 10 of the past 11 meetings with the Mets, including Tuesday's 9-4 victory in the series opener. Adrian Gonzalez homered and finished with three hits, while Yasiel Puig continued his current tear with three hits, two runs scored and an RBI. Puig is batting .411 with six homers, 14 runs and 22 RBI in his last 18 games.
Carl Crawford went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and has hit safely in 12 of the last 13 games. Los Angeles had a 15-11 advantage in hits.
Dodgers starting pitcher Josh Beckett benefited from the run support and allowed four runs in five innings to earn the win.
"These guys are going to hit," Beckett said of LA's lineup. "You go up and down the lineup, up and down the rows of this locker room and it's nothing but really good hitters. They're going to hit, they're going to score runs. This was the bullpen's and their win."
LA is 2-2 so far on a nine-game road trip and will also visit Philadelphia.
The Dodgers are expected to reinstate starter Hyun-Jin Ryu from the disabled list for Wednesday and he hasn't pitched since April 27 because of left shoulder inflammation. In that 6-1 loss to Colorado, Ryu was reached for six runs -- five earned -- and nine hits in five innings.
Ryu is 3-2 with a 3.00 earned run average in seven starts and has faced the Mets twice in his career, going 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA. The southpaw is 3-0 in four road assignments this season.
May has been rough for the Mets and they are 5-13 in the month. The Mets opened a nine-game homestand with Tuesday's loss, as pitching prospect Rafael Montero was knocked around for five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Curtis Granderson finished 3-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored, while Lucas Duda added a two-run homer for New York, which has lost three in a row and five of six games at Citi Field. Granderson is hitting .302 with five homers and 13 RBI in May.
"At the end of the year, everyone is going to go back and talk about situational hitting," said Mets manager Terry Collins after his club hit just 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position. "That has certainly been one of our things early in the year that we have not done."
The Mets will also host Arizona and Pittsburgh on this homestand.
Taking the mound for the Mets Wednesday will be another young prospect in Jacob deGrom. He made his major league debut in last Thursday's 1-0 loss to the New York Yankees and pitched well in defeat. He lasted seven innings and allowed the lone run and four hits with six K's and two walks.
The right-handed deGrom tied the longest outing by a Mets pitcher in his debut since 1982, when Brent Graff tossed 7 2/3 innings in a 3-2 loss to San Francisco. He also had a hit at the plate.
Los Angeles and New York are meeting for the first time since the Dodgers won five of six matchups a season ago.
[SportsNetwork.com]
