LOS ANGELES — Buck Showalter had mentioned earlier in the season there would be times his closer would be asked to pitch the eighth inning.
So it wasn’t a complete surprise when the bullpen gate opened in right field before the bottom of the eighth inning and Edwin Diaz came running to the mound.
“It was the top of the order, so I was aware to be ready for today,” Diaz said after the Mets beat the Dodgers 5-4 in 10 innings.
Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner were retired in succession. But instead of sticking with Diaz for the ninth (the manager wanted his closer available for Monday night), Seth Lugo was summoned. The usually reliable right-hander surrendered a homer to Will Smith and game-tying RBI single to Eddy Alvarez.
“I was ready to throw six outs, I told them that,” Diaz said. “But they told me I had to be ready for tomorrow too.”
With narrow options for the 10th inning, Showalter turned to Adonis Medina, who recorded the final three outs, facing the top of the order.
“I had to warm up [Medina] earlier in the game, that made it even more remarkable,” Showalter said.
Brandon Nimmo remained in the game after he was drilled in the top of the right hand by a Caleb Ferguson pitch in the seventh inning. Nimmo will be further evaluated on Monday.
Jeff McNeil received a day off with left-hander Julio Urias on the mound for the Dodgers. A night earlier, Showalter removed McNeil from the game for the final half-inning in left field after he threw his helmet in disgust following a strikeout.
Tylor Megill pitched 3 ²/₃ innings and allowed two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts over 53 pitches in a rehab start for Double-A Binghamton. The Mets will now decide whether to insert the right-hander into the rotation or give him an additional rehab start. Megill has spent the last three weeks on the injured list after he was diagnosed with inflammation in his right biceps.