LOS ANGELES (AP) -Wilson Betemit, Matt Kemp, and winning pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo homered off John Maine on three consecutive pitches, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets 4-1 Tuesday night to hand the slumping NL East leaders their eighth loss in nine games.
After Russell Martin grounded out to start the second, Betemit hit an 0-1 pitch over the left-center field fence for his sixth homer. Kemp drove Maine’s next pitch just inside the left-field foul pole for his first, and Kuo followed by hitting the first homer of his career into the right field pavilion to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.
The last time a team hit three homers on as many pitches occurred last Sept. 18 on the last three of the four straight hit by the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning in an 11-10, 10-inning victory over San Diego.
The Mets hadn’t allowed three straight homers since April 1, 1997, and five days ago they hit back-to-back-to-back homers against Philadelphia. Kemp’s homer was the first to reach the loge level since July 27, 2005, when Olmedo Saenz accomplished the feat against Cincinnati.
Kuo (1-1), whose only previous victory came over the Mets last September, allowed five hits and one run in seven innings. Takashi Saito worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save.
Maine (6-4) allowed seven hits and four runs in 5 1-3 innings.
Add A Comment