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 Duda homered twice, drove in a career-high five runs and helped
the Mets turn a triple play in an 11-3 blowout before 47,290 fans.
Catcher Travis d'Arnaud and shortstop Ruben Tejada also went deep
for New York (61-70), which snapped a six-game skid against Los
Angeles (74-58) at Dodger Stadium.
Colon (12-10) delivered a strong effort just days after the death of
his mother in the Dominican Republic. The right-hander allowed two
runs on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk in six innings.
"I'm sure Bartolo has other things on his mind than baseball,
obviously with the situation," said Duda, who went 3-for-5 and
homered for the second consecutive game and the fifth time in the
past six contests. "Great job by him. We all try to rally around him
and give him as much support as we can. He's an unbelievable
person."
After giving up a run in the first inning, Colon shut down the
Dodgers, retiring 13 of 14 batters before allowing a leadoff single
in the sixth to second baseman Dee Gordon,. After a walk to center
fielder Yasiel Puig, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI
single.
However, Colon forced right fielder Matt Kemp to ground into a
5-4-3-2 triple play, as Puig, attempting to score from second, was
tagged out at the plate by d'Arnaud to end the inning.
"That was right at a crucial moment because I was feeling a little
tired," Colon said through an interpreter. "It came at the right
time."
Duda said he got a glimpse of Puig racing home from third.
"It definitely kind of caught my eye," Duda said. "I was lucky
enough to have just enough time and get the ball to Travis, and he
made a good tag."
The Mets pounded Dodgers starter Kevin Correia (2-1), tagging him
for seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in three innings.
"They weren't missing too many barrels," Dodgers manager Don
Mattingly said of Correia's pitches. "Kevin (was) not too good. He
got us in a little bit of a hole."
Kemp's RBI single in the first gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead, but the
Mets answered with seven consecutive runs.
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D'Arnaud hit his 12th home run in the second to tie the score. The Dodgers
got a bit careless with two outs in the inning, as New York left fielder
Eric Young Jr. stroked a smash past Gordon that rolled all the way to
the wall in right for a go-ahead triple and a 2-1 New York advantage.
A five-run surge in the third inning sparked the blowout. Duda smacked a
three-run homer, his 25th of the season, an estimated 457 feet into the
pavilion in right. Three batters later, Tejada delivered a two-run shot
for a 7-1 Mets cushion.
"I got a few pitches up that I could handle," said Duda, who played
college ball nearby at the University of Southern California. "I put the
barrel on them, and that was it."
New York scored three more runs, including an RBI single by Duda in the
seventh inning. Duda added a solo home run in the ninth.
"Anything I can do to contribute, but the ultimate goal is to win the
game," said Duda, whose hitting prevented the Mets from being swept in
the three-game series. "That's a really good team out there. They pitch
well, hit, play good defense. We played them pretty tough for the
three-game series. Obviously, you want to win more than one game, but
we'll take one and build on that."
NOTES: The Mets turned their first triple play since May 19, 2010, at
Washington. ... Mets 3B David Wright left the game in the third inning
with a muscle spasm in his neck. ... Dodgers SS Hanley Ramirez was
activated from the 15-day disabled list after missing 14 games with a
right oblique strain. INF Erisbel Arruebarrena was optioned to Class A
Rancho Cucamonga to make room. ... Mets RHP Bartolo Colon has allowed
only three stolen bases in 25 starts this season. ... Both teams are off
Monday before beginning three-game sets Tuesday. The Mets host the
Atlanta Braves, while the Dodgers visit the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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