Beltran, Tatis deliver as Mets come back to beat Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

05/31/2008 - Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Beltran hit a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning, and Fernando Tatis delivered the winning run later in the frame as the New York Mets rallied for a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third of a four-game set at Shea Stadium.

Carlos Delgado went 2-for-4 for the Mets, who have won four of five. Jose Reyes was 1-for-3 to extend his hit streak to 16 games, while David Wright doubled and scored a run. Duaner Sanchez (2-0) earned the win with a scoreless eighth in relief of Mike Pelfrey, who allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings, striking out six.

Jonathan Broxton (2-2) allowed all three runs in one-third of an inning to take the loss for the Dodgers, who have dropped five of their last six. The defeat wasted a brilliant outing from Chad Billingsley, who held the Mets to four hits over seven shutout innings, striking out four and walking three.

Blake DeWitt went 2-for-4 and knocked in a run in the loss, while Juan Pierre and Russell Martin each singled and scored a run.

After being blanked through seven, Wright greeted Broxton with a double off the base of the wall in right to start the eighth, and Beltran immediately tied the game, launching an 0-1 slider over the wall in right. Delgado followed with a sharp single to right, and Damion Easley moved pinch-runner Nick Evans to second with a bunt. Brian Schneider was intentionally walked, then Tatis slapped a grounder back through the middle to plate Evans with the go-ahead run.

Broxton was lifted for Joe Beimel, who got pinch-hitter Luis Castillo to ground out before Reyes was given an intentional walk to load the bases. Beimel fanned Endy Chavez to end the inning, but the Mets had reversed the 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Billy Wagner needed just 15 pitches to strike out the side in the ninth, freezing DeWitt with a 3-2 fastball on the outside corner to notch his 11th save.

Pierre singled to center to start the game, and Matt Kemp followed by flipping a single to shallow right. Kemp tried to stretch the hit into a double, and while Chavez's throw easily beat him to the bag, Reyes let the ball go off his glove and between his legs, allowing Pierre to score and Kemp to end up on second. Pelfrey, however, avoided further damage and escaped with a 1-0 deficit.

A walk to Martin and singles by Andre Ethier and DeWitt allowed the Dodgers to push another run across in the fourth.

Billingsley's control began to falter in the bottom of the fourth, as he started the inning with walks to Wright and Beltran. Billingsley fell behind Delgado, 3-1, but got him to line out to center, then struck out Easley and retired Schneider on a lazy fly ball to center to escape unscathed.

The Mets managed just two hits against Billingsley until the seventh, when Schneider led off with a single to right. Tatis lined out to right, but pinch- hitter Raul Casanova grounded a single down the line in left to send Schneider to third. However, Billingsley retired Reyes and Chavez on popups to keep New York scoreless.

Game Notes

Reyes has now reached base in 31 consecutive games...The Mets won despite going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11 men on base...The Dodgers were held to seven hits, all singles...On this day in 1977, current Dodgers manager Joe Torre was named manager of the Mets while still playing for the team...Hiroki Kuroda (2-4) will have a tough task in trying to salvage a series split for the Dodgers on Sunday, as he'll be opposed by Mets ace Johan Santana (6-3).