Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets (36-19) picked up their first victory of a long West Coast road trip, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers (35-18) by a score of 9-4 on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. The offense finally came to life after scoring just one total run across the first two games of the series, and Pete Alonso solidified his claim to the National League MVP award with an outstanding performance at the plate.

The Mets jumped out to an early lead in the first inning, as Francisco Lindor took Dodgers starter Walker Buehler deep for his ninth home run of the year. It was Lindor’s first hit since fracturing his finger prior to Thursday’s game, and it put the Mets on top 1-0.

That lead was short-lived, as the Dodgers made something out of nothing against David Peterson in the second inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Cody Bellinger grounded a ball to Pete Alonso, who attempted to throw out the runner advancing to second but pulled Lindor off the bag with his throw. Three batters later, Mookie Betts laced a bases-clearing double to the left center gap, giving the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.

With their backs against the wall, the Mets rallied for an impressive response in the third inning. Starling Marte drove in a run with a double, and Lindor recorded his second RBI of the night on a groundout. Lindor now has 22 RBIs in his last 11 games, and he is up to 45 RBIs on the season, good for third in the National League and fourth in the majors.

Alonso followed that up with a two-run homer to give the Mets a 5-4 lead. Alonso has four home runs in 14 career at-bats against Buehler. Buehler was pulled from the game after surrendering the home run to Alonso, making this the shortest outing of his career at just 2 1/3 innings pitched.

Eduardo Escobar extended the lead to 6-4 with his fourth home run of the season to lead off the fourth inning. In the same inning, Brandon Nimmo got a hit to snap out of an 0-for-14 slump.

Peterson struggled to find the strike zone all night, and he couldn’t make it through the fourth inning. He was pulled after throwing one pitch to Betts, who roped a foul ball down the left field line, and it took him 90 pitches to get through just 3 2/3 innings of work. He recorded six strikeouts, but he also walked four batters. Only one of the four runs Peterson allowed was charged to him, so his season ERA actually dropped to a more than respectable 2.97 mark.

Alonso made a great night even better by launching a three-run blast in the seventh inning to give the Mets a 9-4 lead. Alonso now has seven home runs in 11 career games at Dodger Stadium. This is his second multi-homer game of the season and the 13th of his career. Alonso is tied for the National League lead with 16 home runs, and he is tied for the major league lead with 53 RBIs.

The Mets’ bullpen did a fantastic job of holding onto that lead, shutting down the Dodgers offense from the fourth inning on. Six Mets relievers combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits. In the process, they stifled the red-hot bat of Trea Turner, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to snap his 26-game hitting streak.

The Dodgers attempted to open the ninth inning with pitch position player Zach McKinstry on the mound, leading to a bizarre delay during which it was determined that the Dodgers were not in a large enough deficit to make such a move. That only served to delay the inevitable, a Mets victory which sees them avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Player of the Game: Pete Alonso

Alonso loves hitting at Dodger Stadium, and his bat made all the difference in a game that the Mets desperately needed. His first home run reclaimed the lead for the Mets in the third inning, and his second home run put the game out of reach. He is squarely in the conversation for the National League MVP award, an award which no Mets player has ever claimed. Oh, and he’s tied with Kevin McReynolds for 10th place on the Mets all-time home run list, with the potential to move up even further on that list by season’s end.

Final line for Alonso: 3-for-5, 2 HR (16), 5 RBI, 2 SO

On Deck

The Mets will look to earn a series split when they match up against the Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. First pitch is set for 4:10 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on SNY. The Mets will have Trevor Williams on the mound, while the Dodgers will go with Julio Urías.