The Dodgers rolled into Citi Field and took down the Mets 4-2 Thursday night, thanks to a masterful performance on the mound from Roki Sasaki and a late-game blast from Kyle Tucker. Sasaki truly did the heavy lifting, carving up the Mets lineup, while Tucker made sure his incredible effort didn’t go to waste.
Sasaki’s Seven Innings of Pure Nasty
Man, Sasaki was just dealing out there. The right-hander went a full seven innings, absolutely racking up nine strikeouts and only letting three hits get through. His fastball was buzzing, and that slider? Forget about it. The Mets hitters just could not square it up. Yeah, Luis Robert Jr. got him for a solo shot in the second that put New York up 1-0 early, but Sasaki shook it off like it was nothing. He only walked two and gave up that single run, improving his record to 4-5 on the season. Anyone watching that performance knows his record doesn’t tell the whole story, because he was in control from the jump.
Timely Hits and Tucker’s Knockout Punch
The Dodgers’ offense took a little while to get going, but they strung together just enough timely hitting to back up Sasaki. After Robert’s homer, the Dodgers got on the board in the fourth. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts got back-to-back singles, and then Miguel Rojas stepped up and dropped a sacrifice fly to score Freeman, tying it all up at 1-1. The game stayed tight until the seventh when the Dodgers finally broke through against the Mets bullpen. Tucker and Teoscar Hernández led off with back-to-back singles, then Dalton Rushing hit a fielder’s choice that cut down Tucker at the plate. But Shohei Ohtani didn’t miss his chance, lifting a sacrifice fly that scored Hernández and put Los Angeles up 2-1.
But the real dagger? That came in the eighth. Freeman singled and then flat-out stole second, setting the stage. And who else but Kyle Tucker steps up and absolutely crushes a two-run homer to right-center, his eighth of the year. That blast landed in the Mets bullpen, pushing the lead to 4-1 and basically putting the game out of reach. Francisco Alvarez tried to rally the Mets with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth, making it 4-2 off Evan Phillips, but Tanner Scott came in and closed it out with a scoreless ninth for his 16th save. The Dodgers had chances for more, with Ohtani even doubling, but they didn’t need it thanks to Sasaki’s gem and Tucker’s big hit.
What a way to start the series! The Dodgers will be looking to keep that momentum going in the next game, hoping for another strong outing and more clutch hitting to try and secure the series win.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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