JOE RESNICK
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Correia has been known to give up home runs in bunches during his 12-year career. The New York Mets became the latest team to hit three against him in one game.
Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada and Travis d’Arnaud all took Correia deep during his three innings on the mound, accounting for six runs in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 11-3 loss on Sunday.
This was the 10th time that the right-hander has allowed at least three homers — and on his 34th birthday, no less. He yielded four on two occasions.
“Keeping the ball down isn’t always the problem. It’s getting it where I want it to go,” Correia said. “Normally, you can get away with a mistake here and there with just late movement. But I threw a couple that I just missed on that they were probably looking for, and they jumped on every one of them.”
Correia (2-1) was charged with seven runs — five earned — and seven hits in his third start since the Dodgers acquired him from Minnesota.
“Kevin wasn’t the guy we talked about starting when he came here, but he’s pitched well for us and won a couple games,” manager Don Mattingly said. “The original plan was that Kevin was going to make one start and kind of slip into his role in the bullpen. That turned into three.”
A routine grounder by Matt Kemp turned into three outs in the Dodgers’ sixth, as the Mets executed their first triple play in more than four years.
Moments after Adrian Gonzalez’s RBI single in the sixth trimmed New York’s lead to 7-2, Kemp hit Bartolo Colon’s 92nd and final pitch into the hole to third baseman Eric Campbell. He threw to second for the force before Daniel Murphy relayed to first. Yasiel Puig tried to score from second, but d’Arnaud took the throw from Duda and tagged him out.
“It’s just the wrong play,” Mattingly said. “That’s what we talked to him about. It’s just a little disappointing because he had another one of these in a similar-type game.”
“He’s going to make mistakes and we’re OK with that,” Mattingly said. “But this is the second time that same almost exact play happened. You would hope that guys would learn from their mistakes and get better.”
Duda homered twice, raising his career-high total to 26 and posting his first career five-RBI game. The other homer came in the ninth against Jamey Wright. But despite the loss, the Dodgers maintained their 4 1-2 game lead on San Francisco in the NL West following the Giants’ 14-6 defeat at Washington.
Colon (12-10) gave up two runs and five hits over six innings and struck out five in his first start since his mother Adriana passed away on Monday from breast cancer. After the game, the 41-year-old right-hander returned to the Dominican Republic to attend her funeral.
“I’m sure Bartolo had other things on his mind than baseball, obviously with his situation,” Duda said. “We all tried to kind of rally around him and give him as much support as we could.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: Closer Jenrry Mejia, who pitched a perfect inning Saturday after experiencing back problems during the series in Oakland, will be watched closely by the training staff the rest of the way. “You can just see the difference in his stuff when he’s rested,” manager Terry Collins said.
Dodgers: SS Hanley Ramirez was reinstated from the disabled list and was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts after missing 14 games because of an oblique strain on his right side. … INF Erisbel Arruebarrena was optioned to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga to clear a roster spot.
UP NEXT
Mets: Dillon Gee (4-6, 3.84 ERA) takes the ball Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series against Atlanta, trying to end the longest losing streak of his career. He is 0-5 with a 5.71 ERA in seven starts since beating the Braves 4-1 on July 9.
Dodgers: Roberto Hernandez (7-9, 3.78 ERA) pitches the opener of a two-game set at Arizona Tuesday night, his fourth start since the Dodgers obtained him from Philadelphia.
NOT WRIGHT
Slumping Mets third baseman David Wright, who came in 9 for 12 against Correia, left the game following the Mets’ five-run third because of a muscle spasm on the right side of his neck.
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