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NEW YORK -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw walked to his locker late Sunday night and grinned at the sight of reporters spilling over into the space occupied by rookie outfielder Trayce Thompson. "You're in a bad spot, Trayce," Kershaw said.
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A ninth-inning rally by the Dodgers pulled manager Dave Roberts out of what would have been a far worse spot.
The Mets tied the game in the eighth, after Roberts pulled Kershaw in the middle of an inning for the first time all season, but Adrian Gonzalez's two-run single with one out in the ninth lifted the Dodgers to a 4-2 win at Citi Field.
Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who leads the majors in ERA (1.56), strikeouts (105) and WHIP (0.65), was one out away from completing the eighth inning for the fourth straight start and the seventh time in 11 appearances this season when Roberts pulled him for left-hander Adam Liberatore with Kevin Plawecki at second base and the left-handed hitting Curtis Granderson stepping to the plate.
"When Clayton's on the mound, it's tantalizing to have him finish every game," Roberts said. "He's never going to be a guy that says 'I've had enough,' whether it's 110, 120, 130 pitches. It's always comforting to have him as a fallback. But I made that decision and I've got to live with it."
Kershaw, whose 114 pitches were two shy of his season high, didn't look at Roberts as he handed him the ball and stormed off the mound. He watched in the dugout as Granderson, who began the game hitting .180 against left-handers tripled to deep right field on the fourth pitch by Liberatore, who entered Sunday limiting left-handed hitters to a .107 average in 28 at-bats.
"It's a tough, tough decision, that's why I'm not the manager," Kershaw said. "I think managers appreciate when you don't want to come out of the game. Obviously, I didn't want to, and never really do. But you know what, he's making the decisions. Just got to respect it."
Kershaw allowed the two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out 10. He finished 5-0 in six May starts with a 0.91 ERA (five runs in 49 2/3 innings) with 65 strikeouts and more shutouts (three) than walks (two).
"It's just special, it's impressive how he can dominate," Roberts said. "For me, you get to a point where you've got two outs, eighth inning, 114 pitches and I wanted to use our pen."
The decision likely became a little easier for Roberts -- and Kershaw -- to stomach in the top of the ninth, which began with pinch-hitter Enrique Hernandez singling against Mets closer Jeurys Familia.
Corey Seager and Justin Turner each coaxed one-out walks, after which Gonzalez singled to shallow center field.
"It's a tied game, there's no emotional letdown," said Gonzalez, who also had an RBI single in the fifth. "First team to score, for the most part, is going to win that game. That was the mentality we had."
Liberatore, who struck out Asdrubal Cabrera to end the eighth, was credited with the win while Kenley Jansen earned his 15th save with a perfect ninth.
Turner had an RBI fielder's choice grounder in the third and Seager had two hits for the Dodgers (27-24), who won the final two games of the three-game series and have won six of their last seven overall.
The loss capped a forgettable weekend for Familia, who has converted 32 straight regular-season save opportunities but blew a 5-1 lead in the ninth inning Friday before Granderson hit a walkoff homer.
"We've got to get our closer going," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "He's been so good and all of a sudden he's had a couple rough outings."
Cabrera homered in the sixth to snap Kershaw's scoreless innings streak at 21 1/3 innings. Granderson doubled leading off the game and went 4-for-12 in the series for the Mets (28-21), who fell out of a first-place tie with the Washington Nationals in the National League East.
Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over six innings.
NOTES: The Mets activated INF Wilmer Flores from the disabled list and optioned INF Matt Reynolds to Triple-A Las Vegas. Flores started at third base and went 0-for-3. ... Flores played in place of 3B David Wright, who missed his second consecutive game due to a sore neck. Manager Terry Collins said Wright received anti-inflammatory medication and would be re-examined after the medicine had 48 hours to take effect. ... Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu had his next rehab start pushed back after he reported feeling stiffness Thursday, the day after his most recent appearance. Ryu underwent shoulder surgery 12 months ago and hasn't pitched in the majors since 2014. ... Dodgers RHP Kenta Maeda felt fine after being hit by a comebacker Saturday night. He is in line to make his next start Thursday against the Chicago Cubs.
