Ross Stripling came into Saturday's game in a situation lacking any pressure whatsoever. The Los Angeles Dodgers were up 7-3 on the New York Mets in the ninth inning, and he wasn't set to face a murderer's row of hitters. But even though he was able to close the door on a victory, he wasn't able to do cleanly. It was an unusual situation for Stripling, though, so manager Dave Roberts doesn't need to be concerned about his reliever...yet.
Stripling struggles on Saturday
After relieving Tony Watson following the eighth inning, the first batter Mets batter Stripling faced was hyped rookie Amed Rosario, still in the midst of his first week in the major leagues.
He managed to strike him out swinging for the first out. Then, catcher Rene Rivera stepped up to the plate. That's where Stripling ran into his problem, giving up a moonshot to left field to cut the deficit to three runs.
For Mets fans, it was a temporary opening. Stripling made sure it stayed that way and developed into nothing more. Jose Reyes grounded out for the second out of the inning. Then, catcher Travis d'Arnaud came in to pinch hit for reliever Fernando Salas. He lined the ball right to Yasiel Puig, who made the world's most casual catch to put an end to the 7-4 onslaught propagated by the Dodgers.
Mets lose battle of the bats
The story of the afternoon was home runs - they came in spurts.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Mets did their best to knock out starter Rich Hill and force Roberts to pitch his long man, Stripling, early. Curtis Granderson, Wilmer Flores, and Michael Conforto (in the leadoff spot) all managed to hit solo home runs. It seemed like that was going to be the type of afternoon it would be for the Mets and the Dodgers.
But in the sixth inning, the Dodgers turned the tide on the Mets. Chris Taylor hit a solo home run off Seth Lugo to start the inning. A few batters later, rookie sensation hit a two-run shot dead to center field to tie the game up at 3-3. In the seventh inning, Puig connected on a solo shot for the second straight day to put the Dodgers up for good.
Justin Turner and Corey Seager would also homer during the afternoon - all 11 runs came courtesy of the long ball.
The Dodgers will look to continue their homering barrage on Sunday night, as the team goes for a road sweep of the Mets. Hyun-Jin Ryu will take the mound for Los Angeles, while the struggling Steven Matz will attempt to turn around his fortunes with New York.
