The three-time Cy Young award victor and Dodgers ace was 80-for-80 protecting leads of four runs or more in his career, and Thursday night he wasn’t even threatened by the Mets in their 5-0 loss at Dodger Stadium. But he took Maeda deep when he led off the third inning, jumping on a first-pitch fastball and sending it 400-plus feet over the wall in right-center field. Syndergaard gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings in that outing against the San Francisco Giants.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Credit Thor with the victory on the mound and at the plate.
“I had to finish him off with two strikes, and I was unable to do that”, Maeda said through a translator. Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves holds the modern-day big league record for pitchers with three home runs in a game against the Chicago Cubs on May 13, 1942. This comes on the heels of a strong start against the Dodgers Monday night from Matz, when he picked up the victory tossing six innings and allowing two runs with five strikeouts.
Maeda had a stunned look on his face as he watched Syndergaard’s second homer go out. “Hats off to him, he threw a great ballgame”.
Syndergaard struck out in the eighth to finish 2-for-4.
Closer Jeurys Familia allowed a run in the ninth though he managed to record his 11th save. The long-haired flame thrower struck out six and had two home runs off Kenta Maeda as he was responsible for all of the Mets’ runs.
“A backdoor breaking ball located down and away”, Roberts said of the second pitch. “He was working behind hitters”.
Blue Jays (18-18) at Rangers (20-15), 8:05 p.m. ET – Toronto has yet to reach the heights it proved it could last season, but the talent is there for them to go on a run. Colon then retired Adrian Gonzalez before Grandal hit a thunderous three-run homer that put the Mets in a 4-0 hole.
The Dodgers hit Colon hard right from the onset.
“About as good as yours”, he said, though these Mets don’t seem to pay much attention to odds. Corey Seager blasted his own solo shot in the bottom of the third tying the game at one.
The Mets had to settle for a split in the four-game series and fell to 4-4 on a marathon road trip that will continue Friday in Colorado. Kershaw needed just 109 pitches to cruise through the Mets’ lineup as he gave up just one multi-base hit – a double to Curtis Granderson in the sixth inning – all game.
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They had just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position against Syndergaaard (Grandal struck out to end the first inning and strand runners at the corners) and have hit.
