Mets take series from Dodgers
Spoil Kershaw’s return to mound
Edwin Díaz struck out Gavin Lux on a 102.8 mph fastball to escape a jam in the eighth inning, and the host New York Mets beat the major league-best Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3, on Thursday.
Francisco Lindor hit a tying double in the sixth and scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Darin Ruf after the Mets were held to one hit in five innings by Clayton Kershaw, who made his first start since Aug. 4.
NL East-leading New York took two of three from Los Angeles, its first series win against the Dodgers since Sept. 3-5, 2011. Los Angeles lost consecutive games for the first time since July 25-26 and dropped consecutive games at Citi Field for the first time since July 25-27, 2015.
“They got a really good team,” Díaz said. “We showed them we have a really good team, too. That’s the team we might play in the playoffs.”
Chris Bassitt ( 12- 7) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings for his fifth straight victory, matching his win total from last season with Oakland. He departed after the Mets took a 3-2 lead in the sixth.
Other games
Braves 3, Rockies 0:
Rookie Spencer Strider set an Atlanta record with 16 strikeouts while allowing two hits in eight innings to lead the Braves over visiting Colorado. Strider (9-4) fanned his last two batters with two runners on in the eighth to complete his 106-pitch outing.
Orioles 3, Guardians O:
Kyle Bradish held Cleveland to two harmless singles in seven innings and Cedric Mullens homered to lead visiting Baltimore.
Mariners 7, Tigers 0: Julio Rodriguez and Ty France hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning and visiting Seattle completed a threegame series sweep.
White Sox 7, Royals 1: Andrew Vaughn and A.J. Pollock each cracked a two-run homer and singled for Chicago.
Nationals 7, Athletics 5:
Joey Meneses hit a game-winning three-run homer in the 10th inning to cap his first four-hit game for host Washington.
Red Sox 9, Rangers 8:
Boston broke out for four runs in the bottom of the ninth, including a walk-off single by Rob Refsyder that scored Rafael Devers for the host Red Sox.