Dodgers return to .500 with win over Mets

Brusdar Graterol comes in to pitch the ninth. Starling Marte struck out swinging. Francisco Lindor struck out swinging. Pete Alonso flied to right. Dodgers win.

Final score: Dodgers 5, Mets 0

Evan Phillips came in to pitch the eighth. Daniel Vogelbach, batting for Escobar, singled. Brett Baty lined to second, and Vargas doubled the runner off first. Brandon Nimmo grounded to short.

In the bottom half, Luke Williams grounded to first. Austin Barnes walked. Barnes stole second. James Outman singled to center, Barnes to third. Freddie Freeman hit a sacrifice fly to left. J.D. Martinez singled to right, Outman scoring, with Martinez out trying to make it a double.

Score after eight innings: Dodgers 5, Mets 0

Francisco Lindor led off the seventh for the Mets and struck out swinging. Clayton Kershaw is still pitching, picking up his seventh strikeout. Pete Alonso struck out swinging. Mark Canha fouled off a bunch of pitches and singled on the 13th pitch of the at-bat. Jeff McNeil singled to center, Canha to third. Tommy Pham struck out swinging. That was Kershaw’s 105th pitch, so you have to figure he is done for the night. It’s still 3-0 Dodgers.

Clayton Kershaw has been prime Clayton Kershaw through five innings Tuesday. He has given up one hit and walked none while striking out five. Just what the Dodgers needed after a rough stretch of games for the team.

In the bottom of the fifth, J.D. Martinez led off with a single and moved to second on Max Muncy’s single to right. Jason Heyward flied to center. Miguel Vargas walked to load the bases with one out. David Peralta struck out swinging. Newest Dodger Luke Williams, batting for Miguel Rojas, flied to left.

Score after five: Dodgers 3, Mets 0

After an uneventful second inning, the Mets went in order in the top of the third.

In the bottom half, James Outman struck out swinging. Freddie Freeman flied to right. J.D. Martinez homered to right, his second of the game. Max Muncy walked for the second time. Jason Heyward singled to center, Muncy to third, with Heyward taking second when the ball got away from the second baseman. Miguel Vargas flied to left.

Score after three: Dodgers 3, Mets 0

Brandon Nimmo led off the game with a line drive to Jason Heyward, who muffed the ball for a three-base error. Starling Marte struck out swinging. Francisco Lindor struck out swinging. Pete Alonso struck out swinging. Vintage Clayton Kershaw.

James Outman struck out to lead off the bottom of the first. Freddie Freeman singled. J.D. Martinez fouled off a few pitches then homered to center on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. Max Muncy walked. Jason Heyward flied to right. Miguel Vargas struck out looking.

Score after one: Dodgers 2, Mets 0

Clayton Kershaw

(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

Clayton Kershaw took the mound in Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night in search of his 200th victory, a milestone that only 116 pitchers in major league history have reached.

“I think it’s very significant,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Clayton has withstood the test of time and performed at a very high level.”

Kershaw, 35, a three-time National League Cy Young Award winner and surefire Hall of Famer, entered Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets with a 199-88 record and 2.49 ERA in 401 starts, with 2,824 strikeouts and 633 walks in 2,599 innings over 16 seasons.

“Clayton respects people who do things for a long period of time,” Roberts said. “You know, lightning strikes a lot of people, stars align to have a good year or a good couple of years, but to have the amount of strikeouts that he has and to have [almost] 200 wins, I think that is what he values.”

Second baseman Mookie Betts tags out Mike Yastrzemski earlier this season.

(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

Now playing shortstop for the Dodgers … Mookie Betts?

It nearly happened in Monday night’s 8-6 loss to the New York Mets, when utility man and backup shortstop Chris Taylor was pulled in the eighth inning because of a rib-cage injury and starting shortstop Miguel Rojas was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the ninth.

And manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday that Betts, a six-time Gold Glove Award-winning right fielder who has already made four starts at second base this season, might “slide Betts over to shortstop” if the opportunity arises, possibly even for Wednesday’s series finale against the Mets.

“If we had tied it up [Monday] night, he would have been there,” Roberts said. “He works out at shortstop every day. He’s been clamoring for quite some time, so we’ll see how it plays out.”

Betts, who is expected to return from paternity leave Wednesday, is more of an “emergency” option at shortstop, but Roberts wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Betts getting an occasional start there.

“He looks extremely natural there [in drills],” Roberts said. “The guy can play anywhere on a baseball field. I think there were some reservations about him playing second base last year, and he quickly put those to bed. … to have Mookie as your third string at anything, I think teams can be doing a lot worse.”

Will Smith

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Any hopes Will Smith had of returning for Thursday night’s series opener in Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs were dashed by manager Dave Roberts, who said that Thursday “is not gonna happen” for the Dodgers catcher, who was put on the seven-day concussion list Sunday.

Smith took three foul tips to the face mask in San Francisco last Tuesday and began experiencing headaches and dizziness on Thursday. But he felt good enough on Monday to go through a full workout and hit in the cage and said it was “possible” he could play Thursday.

Not so fast, said Roberts, who hopes Smith will return at some point during the four-game series in Chicago, “but I’m not counting on it,” he said.

“Will is getting better each day, but we’re still a ways out for me,” Roberts continued. “He’s still got to catch bullpens, work up a sweat, get his heart rate up, kind of go through the regular preparation for us to feel confident he can not have a setback. So yeah, he’s days away, at the minimum.”

Daniel Hudson last season.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Reliever Daniel Hudson’s recovery from surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee has also slowed. The right-hander was put on the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man roster spot from utility man Luke Williams on Tuesday, pushing his earliest return date back to June 1.

“I think there’s a little patella tendinitis from the surgery, which is gonna get better,” Roberts said. “Surgery was successful, so it’s just kind of getting over the hump. It’s just taking more time. So in June, we expect him to be back and ready to go.”

The starting lineups for tonight’s game between the Dodgers and the New York Mets.

Mookie Betts

(Matt York / Associated Press)

The Dodgers recalled utility man Luke Williams from triple-A Oklahoma City before Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets, but it wasn’t to replace utility man Chris Taylor, who was pulled from Monday night’s game in the eighth inning because of a left rib-cage injury.

Williams, who hit .375 (21 for 56) with two homers, eight doubles and 13 RBIs in 14 games for Oklahoma City, took the roster spot of right fielder Mookie Betts, who was placed on the paternity list for the delivery of he and his wife, Brianna’s, second child.

Manager Dave Roberts said he expects Betts to return to the lineup and play “somewhere in the infield,” most likely second base, in Wednesday’s series finale against the Mets.

Williams could remain with the club if Taylor goes on the injured list, which Roberts said is “absolutely” possible. But Taylor said his injury is “pretty mild,” and he hopes to return within a few days.

“I’ve never had any oblique things before, and I was just trying to be cautious,” Taylor said. “There are some things you can try to play through and be OK, and there are other things you have to be smart about. The last thing I want to do is to turn something that’s gonna make me miss a day or two into a four-week injury that doesn’t go away.”

Dodgers relief pitcher Evan Phillips delivers against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 6. Phillips’ new role is revealing some of the Dodgers’ bullpen depth issues.

(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

The problem with the Dodgers bullpen right now is there is not enough of Evan Phillips to go around.

Phillips was the ultimate fireman in 2022, a right-handed weapon that manager Dave Roberts deployed from the sixth through eighth innings to douse fires or mute the middle of an opposing lineup while leaving the final inning or two to closer Craig Kimbrel and setup man Daniel Hudson before Hudson’s season-ending knee injury in June.

But with Phillips serving as the de facto closer this season, Roberts has had to lean on a cadre of late-inning relievers who, for the most part, have not been nearly as effective or as reliable as Phillips was last season, when he went 7-3 with a 1.14 ERA in 64 games, striking out 77 and walking 15 in 63 innings.

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For the first time in five years, the Dodgers have a losing record beyond the opening series of a season.

And as their 8-6 loss to the New York Mets on Monday night at Dodger Stadium showed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to pinpoint just one explanation.

The offense came to life early, scoring six runs in the first six innings to put the Dodgers (8-9) in front three times. Late in the game, however, the offense went silent, turning back into a top-heavy unit incapable of producing enough key hits.

The pitching was even worse, with a five-run fiasco from starter Dustin May quickly being topped by a seventh-inning debacle from a sputtering, unreliable bullpen, as a game-tying balk from Phil Bickford was followed by back-to-back RBIs for the Mets (11-6).

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Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.