Juan Uribe Comes Back From Dead To Beat Mets

For the second straight day the Dodgers jumped on a New York Mets starter early. Juan Uribe led a strong performance by the supporting cast as the Dodgers beat the Mets 8-5 for their third straight win. Uribe, who entered Saturday hitting a robust .186/.238/.264 this season, homered, doubled, and walked twice, driving in four.

The home run by Uribe was his first since May 11, after a span of 73 plate appearances without one.

The offensive outburst - 17 baserunners, eight runs - was more than enough support for Chris Capuano, who struck out nine in seven innings for his 10th win of the season. In his last seven starts Capuano has seven walks and 44 strikeouts.

After Miguel Batista retired the first two batters of the first inning, he issued walks to Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, and James Loney made him pay with an RBI single to right center field for a 1-0 lead. The Dodgers have outscored opponents 67-40 in the first inning this season.

Uribe, who walked in the first inning, snapped an 0-for-10 (and a 1-for-38) skid with a two-run double in the third inning, then scored on a single by Luis Cruz for a 4-0 advantage. Uribe's last six hits have been for extra bases (five doubles, one home run), but unfortunately those six hits took 54 at-bats. His last single came on June 15.

Batista, like Johan Santana the night before, wasn't allowed to bat for the Mets, getting pulled after three innings.

The Mets put two runners on base to open the third inning, but Capuano struck out Andres Torres and got David Wright to pop out to catcher Matt Treanor in foul territory. Capuano appeared to get out of the inning when Scott Hairston lifted a soft pop fly into very short right field, but Adam Kennedy went back on the ball and couldn't make the play. The gift single scored one run, and Jason Bay's single to left field scored another, cutting the Dodgers' lead to 4-2.

Hairston gave back in the fourth inning when he couldn't corral Matt Kemp's fly ball to right field, playing it into a triple that scored Adam Kennedy to make it 5-2.

Uribe walked in the fifth, his third time reaching base, then scored on a double down the left field line. The hit for Treanor snapped an 0-for-25 skid that stretched back to June 17.

Ronald Belisario allowed two runs in the eighth inning, the fourth time in his last seven appearances he has been scored upon, allowing seven runs during that span.

After watching his bullpen pitch 11 innings in two days against the Dodgers, Mets manager Terry Collins summoned starter R.A. Dickey to pitch the ninth inning. Dickey, on his scheduled throw day in between starts, retired Kemp and Ethier but then gave up a single to Loney and Uribe's home run.

Notes

• Uribe reached base four times on Saturday, the first time he has done so since April 25, when he went 4-ofor-4 with three RBI. That was also the last game before Saturday that Uribe had more than one RBI in a game.
• The Dodgers have scored 20 runs in their last three games, one shy of their total of the previous eight games before that. As noted by Craig Minami, the club has scored at least five runs in three straight games for the first time since May 20-22.
• Scott Hairston started Saturday for the Mets, while brother Jerry Hairston Jr. sat for the Dodgers. In six games between these two teams this season, Scott has started three games and Jerry has started three games, but there has yet to be a game this year that both have started.

Up Next

The Dodgers go for the sweep on Sunday morning, with Nathan Eovaldi getting the start against Defiance, Ohio's own Jon Niese.

Today's Particulars

Home Runs: Juan Uribe (2); Ronny Cedeno (2)

WP - Chris Capuano (10-5): 7 IP, 8 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts

LP - Miguel Batista (1-3): 3 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts

Sv - Kenley Jansen (18): 1 IP, 2 walks, 1 strikeout