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| Photo Credit: AP. |
NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Nimmo made an amazing grab, Timmy Trumpet blew his horn and Edwin DÃaz shut the door.
Starting
with another stingy performance by Jacob deGrom, the New York Mets hit every
note Wednesday night in a scintillating show at pulsing Citi Field.
Nimmo saved
the Mets with a breathtaking catch atop the center-field fence, and DÃaz
entered to Trumpet’s live tune before closing out the Los Angeles Dodgers for a
2-1 victory.
“It was
awesome,” deGrom said. “That was a great atmosphere out there. The fans were in
it the whole time.”
Starling
Marte hit a two-run homer off All-Star lefty Tyler Anderson (13-3) as the Mets
evened a three-game showdown between the top two teams in the National League.
Mookie Betts
connected off deGrom (4-1) for his 32nd home run, but it wasn’t enough for the
Dodgers in a tight pitching duel with a playoff feel that took only 2 hours, 19
minutes.
“That was
fun,” New York manager Buck Showalter said.
Making his
sixth start of the season after returning from injury, deGrom hit 102 mph on
the radar gun and struck out nine in seven innings. He allowed three hits and
walked one.
“Maybe the
best to ever pitch,” Betts said. “So, he’s a tough task.”
The two-time
Cy Young Award winner was nursing a 2-1 lead when ex-Met Justin Turner sent a
drive to deep center in the seventh.
Knowing it
might tie the game, deGrom turned around and went into a worried crouch on the
mound. Nimmo, however, raced back and plucked the ball right off the top of the
wall to rob Turner of a home run with a sensational leaping grab.
“Jumped up,
the ball hit my glove and I knew it didn’t bounce out once it got in there. And
then all the emotions spilled out,” Nimmo said. “I’m still really ecstatic
about it. It was one of the best plays I’ve ever made.”
A fired-up
Nimmo landed on his feet, pumped his fist hard and screamed in excitement as
deGrom held both arms high and then tipped his cap.
“What a
play,” Showalter said. “I don’t have much to compare it to.
“I think the
toughest part of it is it didn’t hang up there. He had to totally commit to it.
And it was a huge play.”
The
outfielder received two standing ovations and a warm greeting from deGrom and
other teammates as he approached the dugout after the inning.
“Great play
by Nimmo,” Turner said. “Not a whole lot you can do about it.”
When the
game moved to the ninth, Trumpet and DÃaz took center stage.
The
Australian-born musician was at the ballpark with trumpet in hand for the
second consecutive night to accompany DÃaz’s appearance with a live version of
his song “Narco,” which has become wildly popular as the reliever’s entrance
tune during a dominant season.
DÃaz didn’t
get into Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss, so Trumpet was relegated to a more muted
version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch as
fans sang along.
But he came
back Wednesday and this time, the buzzing crowd of 41,799 got what it was
waiting for.
As fans rose
from their seats in anticipation, Trumpet emerged from under the stands on the
third base side wearing DÃaz’s No. 39 on a black Mets shirt and blared the
familiar “Narco” notes to roars from the crowd as the All-Star closer jogged in
from the bullpen.
“I tried to
look up a little bit when I was running to see what was the reaction of the
fans,” DÃaz said. “It was pretty fun. I can feel the vibe from the fans. It was
really exciting. ... Everybody was getting into it.”
New York
mascots Mr. and Mrs. Met danced and played along with their toy trumpets, too,
before DÃaz made quick work of the 2-3-4 hitters in the Dodgers’ powerful
lineup for his 29th save in 32 chances.
“The
pressure to deliver in that part of the order with all that coming on is
remarkable,” Showalter said. “Been doing it all year for us.”
Nimmo
singled with two outs in the third and Marte followed with his 16th homer, a
drive that cleared the 380-foot sign on the right-center fence.
Betts went
deep in the sixth, tying his career high for homers set during his AL MVP
season in 2018 with Boston. The reigning NL player of the week has five homers,
three doubles and eight RBIs in his last five games.
A contingent
of Dodgers players and coaches, including manager Dave Roberts, spent about 90
minutes Wednesday visiting the Jackie Robinson Museum in lower Manhattan that
opens to the public Monday.
“We got kind
of the VIP tour. It was fantastic,” Roberts said. “Pretty inspiring.”
Dodgers: RHP
Blake Treinen, sidelined since mid-April with a shoulder injury, is expected
back Friday. ... LHP David Price is nursing a sore arm.
Mets: Rookie
3B Brett Baty has a torn ligament in his right thumb that will likely sideline
him for the rest of the regular season. He is scheduled for surgery Thursday.
... RHP Tylor Megill (shoulder strain) makes his first rehab start Thursday at
Double-A Binghamton. Megill, a regular in the rotation early this season, could
return in a bullpen role. ... RHP Drew Smith (right lat strain) is not far
behind Megill in his recovery, Showalter said. ... INF Luis Guillorme (left
groin strain) was set to run the bases. If all goes well, the plan is for him
to play a minor league rehab game Sunday.
Dodgers:
Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw (7-3, 2.64 ERA) comes off the
injured list in the finale of the three-game series Thursday afternoon to make
his first start since Aug. 4. The left-hander, sidelined by lower back pain,
will probably be limited to four or five innings, Roberts said.
Mets: RHP
Chris Bassitt (11-7, 3.34) tries to win his fifth straight decision. He’s lost
both career starts against the Dodgers, including June 3 in Los Angeles, where
he gave up three earned runs over six innings.
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