The Los Angeles Dodgers (62-76) defeated the New York Mets (76-63) by a score of 11-4 Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Offense:

Todd Frazier got things going in the second inning with a base hit, bringing up Jay Bruce. The lefty Bruce, facing Dodger starter and lefty Rich Hill, hit a wall-scraper home run to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead. After Kevin Plawecki struck out on three pitches, Brandon Nimmo roped a worm-burner down the left field line for a double. After Jason Vargas moved him over to third via a groundout, leadoff hitter Amed Rosario struck out to end the threat.

The third inning brought more of the same, with a base hit from Wilmer Flores followed by a 431-foot home run by Michael Conforto to give the Mets a 4-0 lead. Todd Frazier then lined a frozen rope that ricocheted off the left field wall for a one-out double. The Mets were unable to bring him around as Bruce grounded out and Plawecki struck out again.

While early on it looked like it would be a short outing for Rich Hill, he ended up lasting six innings. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and one walk, striking out eight.

Hill was relieved by Pedro Baez, who was greeted by Dominic Smith in the 7th inning. After he popped out, Rosario placed a ball perfectly on the right field foul line in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, and after a replay review, was credited with his second double of the day. Jeff McNeil, who did not start against the left-handed for some reason (.345/.424/.483 in 33 plate appearances against lefties), pinch hit for Austin Jackson.

McNeil grounded out, moving Rosario to third, before Wilmer Flores grounded a ball up the middle making a bid for an RBI single. Machado, moving to his left, grabbed the ball and made a spin throw to first. It was off-line, but Freese made the catch and tagged Flores to make the out and end the inning, preserving the Dodgers’ 5-4 lead.

Down 11-4 in the ninth inning, the Mets showed some life at the start of the inning with Brandon Nimmo and Dominic Smith knocking back-to-back singles against reliever Josh Fields. After walking Jack Reinheimer, Fields was relieved by switch-pitcher Pat Venditte. Pitching lefty, Venditte got Jeff McNeil to pop out for the first out of the inning. He then struck out pinch-hitter Jose Reyes on four pitches, bringing Michael Conforto to the plate. He made a bid for a grand slam but the ball died on the warning track, ending the game.

Pitching:

Jason Vargas started for the Mets and was cruising until the third inning when Austin Barnes lifted a two-run tater over the left field fence to trim the Mets’ lead to 4-2. Later in the inning, with Brian Dozier on first base, Justin Turner hit one 394 feet to the 395 sign, just missing a game-tying homer. After an exhale, Manny Machado lined a base hit to center field, putting runners on first and third with two outs. Matt Kemp, ahead in the count 3-0, hit a slow-roller to second base but Flores made a nice play to retire the veteran at first base, ending the inning.

In the fourth inning, Jason Vargas threw a two-strike changeup to David Freese which yielded a different result as when Johan Santana did the same, as Freese trimmed the Mets’ lead to 4-3 with a home run to left. After an Enrique Hernandez infield single and Chris Taylor double off the left-center field wall, runners lurked on second and third with nobody out. Austin Barnes lifted a high pop-up in front of the first base dugout which Jay Bruce misplayed, allowing the at-bat to continue.

With two strikes, Barnes hit a slowly-hit grounder to a drawn-in Todd Frazier. With his sights set on throwing home and cutting down the tying run, he booted the ball and everyone was safe. Now with runners on first and third, Rich Hill laid down a safety squeeze bunt which Vargas fielded perfectly, flipping it to Plawecki in plenty of time to tag out a sliding Chris Taylor. Vargas’ night ended with runners on first and second one out and Tyler Bashlor coming in to keep the game tied.

With Brian Dozier at the plate, Barnes stole third on the first pitch Bashlor threw to put runners on first and third. With a 2-0 count, Dozier hit a slow grounder to Frazier at third. As Kris Bryant did against the Brewers the other night, Frazier threw the ball to second base to turn a double play instead of throwing home where he probably had a play. The out was made at second but Dozier beat the turn at first, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Bashlor then struck out Justin Turner to end the inning.

Vargas’ final line, no thanks to the Mets’ defense: 3.1 innings pitched, six hits, five runs, four earned, one walk, two strikeouts, and two home runs.

Eric Hanhold, who was acquired from the Brewers in the Neil Walker trade in 2017, made his MLB debut in tonight’s game. Who did he face first? None other than Manny Machado, who he got to ground out to second base. After Matt Kemp knocked a base hit, Hanhold drilled David Freese on the numbers to put runners on first and second with one out. Enrique Hernandez then hit a slow roller to Amed Rosario who made the throw to first for the out. Then, with runners on second and third with two out, Hanhold struck out Chris Taylor to end the threat.

After retiring Max Muncy, Hanhold was removed from the game with a successful debut under his belt. He was relieved by Daniel Zamora who faced only one batter, striking out Kyle Farmer with a barrage of devastating sliders. Paul Sewald then recorded the final out of the inning.

Corey Oswalt came in for the 7th inning and was greeted very rudely. On the first pitch, Justin Turner hit a double to right-center. On the very next pitch, Manny Machado did the same exact thing, giving the Dodgers a 6-4 lead. With a 1-1 count on Matt Kemp, a wild pitch allowed Machado to score from second base when the ball bounced away from Plawecki who did not sprint after it with much urgency — 7-4 Dodgers.

Matt Kemp walked and was lifted for a pinch runner, Tim Locastro, who stole second base like I warned everyone he would. David Freese then knocked the third double of the inning, scoring Locastro and giving the Dodgers an 8-4 lead. A Hernandez base hit to center field scored Freese from second and, finally, Oswalt was lifted from the game after allowing four runs and not recording an out.

Jacob Rhame, who was traded to the Mets by the Dodgers for Curtis Granderson in 2017, came in relief of Oswalt and immediately gave up a single to Chris Taylor, putting runners on first and third still with nobody out. Pinch-hitter Cody Bellinger then, as Gary Cohen said, “hit one seven miles high,” a pop-up to first for the first out of the inning. Yasmani Grandal then hit a scorching line drive off the right field short porch, missing a home run by inches. While one run scored easily, the trail runner Taylor scored thanks to a botched relay from the Mets. The next pitch was an inning-ending double play, but the damage was done as the Mets trailed at that point 11-4.

Rhame then pitched a perfect bottom of the 8th inning to keep the deficit at 11-4 going into the top of the 9th. The Mets, who at one point led 4-0, let this game get away from them. Chalk this one up to poor defense and bad outings by all the bullpen arms.

On Deck:

The Mets will send Zack Wheeler (9-7, 3.37 ERA) to face off against Hyun-Jin Ryu (4-1, 2.24 ERA) and the Dodgers in Los Angeles Wednesday night at 7:35 PM EST.