Conforto’s grand slam sends Mets past Dodgers 7-3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Conforto’s first career grand slam snapped a seventh-inning tie and the New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 Tuesday night.
Conforto struck out twice but his five RBIs helped the Mets end a six-game road skid.
The Dodgers’ bullpen imploded in the seventh taking over from starter Rich Hill. Yimi Garcia (0-2) and Dylan Floro each walked their first two batters. Amed Rosario sacrificed to load the bases against Floro.
Floro struck out J.D. Davis before giving way to Scott Alexander, who served up Conforto’s slam into the left field pavilion on an 0-1 count. That put the Mets ahead 6-3.
New York tied the game 2-all in the fourth on Todd Frazier’s leadoff homer, giving the team a home run in nine straight games.
Cody Bellinger gave the Dodgers their only lead in the third with his 20th homer, a two-run shot with two outs that made it 2-1. Their four-game winning streak came to an end.
Conforto grounded into a fielder’s choice to third that scored Mets starter Steven Matz (4-3) in the third for a 1-0 lead.
Rosario added an RBI triple with two outs in the eighth.
Mets rookie Pete Alonso went 1 for 4 and struck out three times.
Matz gave up two runs and four hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked three.
Hill allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, struck out six and walked one.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: INF Robinson Cano (left quad strain) hit on the field, jogged and played catch. … RHP Seth Lugo (right shoulder tendinitis) played catch. Next up are some bullpen sessions.
Dodgers: C Austin Barnes (left groin strain) will take a couple days off while waiting to be cleared to resume baseball activities. … LHP Tony Cingrani (left shoulder) is due to be re-evaluated after suffering a setback during his rehab assignment.
BIG LEAGUE DEBUT
C Will Smith made his major league debut for the Dodgers, starting behind the plate and getting two hits. In his first at-bat, he singled with two outs in the second off Matz. He doubled leading off the seventh. Smith hit into an inning-ending double play in the eight. He walked to the plate to the theme from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which starred actor Will Smith. The catcher was added to the roster a day earlier when Barnes went on the 10-day injured list.
UP NEXT
Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard (3-4, 4.93 ERA) faces the Dodgers for the first time in three years. He’s 1-0 in three career starts against them with a 1.65 ERA and 15 strikeouts.
Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (5-1, 3.58) faces the Mets for the first time in his career. He’s holding batters to a .228 average in 10 starts.
