Freeman and Stone help the Dodgers sweep a doubleheader against the struggling Mets

By JERRY BEACH
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Gavin Stone struck out seven in seven innings, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the reeling New York Mets 3-0 on Tuesday night for a doubleheader sweep.

Stone (5-2) allowed three hits and walked none. Alex Vesia got six outs for his second save, finishing a three-hitter.

“Just trying to put up zeros for the squad,” Stone said. “We really needed a win today. Thankfully, we got two.”

The NL West-leading Dodgers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win in the opener. Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning, and Teoscar Hernández had three hits.

Los Angeles trailed 2-0 before Freeman hit an RBI single in the eighth, and Chris Taylor — mired in a 7-for-72 slump — drove in Hernández with a well-placed bunt in the ninth against Adam Ottavino.

The Dodgers also got a strong start from Tyler Glasnow in the first game. The right-hander struck out eight while pitching seven innings of two-run ball.

Los Angeles’ five-game slide was the team’s longest streak since it dropped six in a row in April 2019.

“With the (series finale) tomorrow, how we manage pitching is very tricky, but the starters set the tone,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Daniel Hudson (2-1) got the win in the first game by escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the ninth. Blake Treinen pitched a perfect 10th for his first save since Sept. 28, 2021.

“The reason why we won both games today was because of our pitching,” Freeman said. “Tyler and Gavin (and the) bullpen was basically phenomenal today.”

In the first game, Mookie Betts opened the 10th with an RBI single against Jorge López (1-2), driving in automatic runner Andy Pages. After Shohei Ohtani struck out swinging, Freeman hit a drive to right for his sixth homer.

The Dodgers then got off to a fast start in the second game. Will Smith homered in the first against Jose Quintana, and Miguel Rojas hit an RBI double in the second. Miguel Vargas went deep in the sixth.

“Was happy how we kept fighting to the end of that first game,” Freeman said. “Lot of good things happened that carried over into the second game.”

Quintana (1-5) allowed eight hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked none.

New York has dropped seven of eight to fall season-high 10 games under .500 at 22-32. It is just 10-24 since April 21.

“Tough day for us,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ve got to continue to fight. We’ve got to pick each other up. Because I know we’re better than that and they know they’re better than that.”

In the opener, New York wasted a stellar performance by Tylor Megill, who struck out nine while pitching seven innings of three-hit ball.

Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor hit a two-run drive in the third in his second at-bat after changing his walk-up music to The Temptations’ “My Girl.” It was his first homer since May 10.

New York didn’t get a runner into scoring position in the nightcap.

“Definitely frustrating,” Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil said. “It’s tough. We want to go out there and perform and we aren’t right now.”

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani sat out the nightcap after going 0 for 5 in his first game at Citi Field since signing with Los Angeles in December. He was cheered in each of his first three plate appearances before hearing scattered boos from a late-arriving crowd to the single-admission doubleheader in the eighth and 10th inning.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: 2B Max Muncy (right oblique), who was placed on the injured list May 17, is no longer swinging a bat in Arizona. … RHP Evan Phillips (right hamstring) is expected to make one more rehab appearance before returning to the Dodgers on Friday.

Mets: C Francisco Alvarez (left thumb) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Thursday with Double-A Binghamton. Alvarez was expected to miss six to eight weeks when he underwent surgery April 23. … RHP Kodai Senga (shoulder) played catch Tuesday, four days after he received a cortisone shot.

UP NEXT

The three-game, two-day series concludes on Wednesday, when Mets LHP David Peterson will be activated from the injured list to make his season debut against Dodgers LHP James Paxton (5-0, 3.49 ERA). Peterson is coming back from left hip surgery.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb