Mets 2 - 3 Dodgers
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May 10, 2016 - 5:55 AM Jacob deGrom's last start at Dodger Stadium was a key piece to the New York Mets' World Series run. He hopes his next helps the Mets extend a more modest regular-season spurt.

DeGrom looks to rebound from an ugly start to lift the Mets to their fourth straight win and seventh in nine games over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

New York (20-11) and Los Angeles (16-16) are matching up for the first time since the Mets took their five-game NL division series in October.

DeGrom (3-1, 1.99 ERA) allowed two first-inning runs against the Dodgers in the Game 5 clincher but nothing else through six innings for his second win of the series. In Games 1 and 5 combined, he gave up the two runs and 11 hits in 13 innings while walking four and striking out 20.

The right-hander is 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in five career starts against the Dodgers. Justin Turner is 5 for 11 with three doubles in the matchup, while Adrian Gonzalez is 4 for 14 with a pair of homers and eight strikeouts. Yasiel Puig's lone hit in six at-bats was a homer.

However, deGrom is coming off his first defeat after giving up eight hits and three runs in five innings of Thursday's 5-3 loss at San Diego. He surrendered his first home run of the year in his shortest outing.

''I don't even know how many hits I gave up when I had guys with two strikes and just couldn't put them away,'' he said. ''Leaving the offspeed in the middle, give them a chance and then at times throwing it not even close to the zone so then it goes to 3-2, and there's a pretty good chance there's a fastball coming there so they end up getting a hit off that.''

Alex Wood (1-3, 5.18) is fresh off his own uncharacteristic start, surrendering three home runs in Wednesday's 8-5 loss at Tampa Bay. It was a career high for the ground-ball pitcher, who gave up one homer his first five starts.

The left-hander was pulled after surrendering six hits and five runs in five innings while striking out seven without a walk.

The Dodgers haven't won consecutive Wood starts since he was acquired from Atlanta in July. Last season's struggles were pinned on a right ankle injury, but Wood said a mechanical tweak implemented two starts back is, in fact, working.

"I felt last start and this start as good as I have in a long time," Wood told MLB's official website. "It's working pretty good for the most part. The mistakes I made, they put it out of the park, and that doesn't usually happen to me. I felt like I was really good (Wednesday night), minus the homers."

Wood returns home where he has a 1.29 ERA, compared to an 8.05 mark on the road.

He has never beaten the Mets, going 0-3 with a 5.01 ERA in eight appearances, seven starts. Wood was shelled for four runs in two innings out of the bullpen in a 13-7 loss in Game 3 of the NLDS, surrendering a three-run homer to Yoenis Cespedes.

Curtis Granderson, Juan Lagares and Wilmer Flores have also gone deep off him. Granderson and Kevin Plawecki homered in Monday's 4-2 win to give the Mets 49, their most through 31 games in franchise history.






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