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Dodgers' big fifth inning dooms Sosa, Mets

Jun 14, 2007 - 6:13 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Wilson Betemit homered in a big fifth inning and Brad Penny turned in his usual dominant performance as the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a sweep of the New York Mets with a 9-1 victory Wednesday.

New York was clinging to a 1-0 lead going into the home half of the fifth when the Los Angeles offense came to life. Betemit led off with a solo homer off Mets starter Jorge Sosa to forge a 1-1 tie.

"I know Sosa from winter ball in Venezuela, so I know the slider is his best pitch. He threw me one and I hit it good," Betemit said.

Matt Kemp followed with a single and moved to second on Penny's one-out sacrifice. Kemp trotted home when leadoff man Rafael Furcal tripled to deep right, giving the Dodgers their first lead, 2-1.

"We're hitting well, pitching well and getting clutch hits," Dodgers Manager Grady Little said. "We have a lineup of a lot of good hitters, and our pitching gives us good opportunities to win."

Juan Pierre padded the advantage by plating Furcal with an RBI single.

That was all the run support Penny (8-1) needed. The burly righthander pitched seven innings, yielding one run and seven hits. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk to earn his eighth win of the season.

"I thought I threw the ball well and I felt good without overthrowing. My control was great, it's always good not to walk anyone," Penny said.

Penny's only loss came on May 18 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, when he allowed eight runs in five innings. Taking that start out of the equation, he is pitching to a 1.47 ERA this season.

"(Penny) locates with his fastball well and keeps hitters off-balance with his curveball," Dodgers catcher Russell Martin said. "His strength is moving his fastball around and he definitely had it going tonight."

Los Angeles chased Sosa (6-2) from the game in the sixth. Betemit's two-out single scored Nomar Garciaparra from second base, and Kemp followed with his second hit of the night to plate Betemit and end Sosa's night.

"We continued to swing the bats well, that's what it takes to beat a team like the Mets, and we're capable of doing that." Martin said.

Sosa lasted 5 2/3 innings, surrendering six runs and eight hits while striking out one and issuing one walk.

The 30-year-old journeyman righthander had been impressive in the No. 5 spot in the Mets rotation coming into Wednesday's contest, sporting a 2.64 ERA. In his last start, Sosa held the Detroit Tigers - the major leagues' top offense - scoreless for eight innings to earn a win.

Joe Beimel pitched a scoreless eighth and Brett Tomko followed with a perfect ninth to seal the win for Los Angeles.

New York's lone run came in the first inning when David Wright extended his hitting streak to 15 games with an RBI single.

"(Wright) is a great hitter," Penny said. "He hits good pitches as you saw tonight. The key is to not make a mistake to him because he'll make you pay."

The Mets have dropped a season-high five straight games and are just 2-10 in the month of June.

"This team has great leadership and great young energy, we have to go out and play our game," Wright said. "The reality is good teams pull out of slumps and we play 162 games so we have a ways to go."