Dodgers finally score, but lose 3-2 to Mets

LOS ANGELES – Dee Gordon hit home plate, bounded back to the dugout and then the celebration started.

For a moment, anyway. The Dodgers, at last, had scored a run.

Los Angeles ended its 33-inning scoreless drought, only it wasn't enough to prevent the Dodgers from losing their fifth straight game and tumbling from the top of the NL West standings.

David Wright hit a solo homer and RBI double, helping the New York Mets beat the Dodgers 3-2 on Thursday night.

Coming off a three-game sweep at San Francisco in which they were outscored 15-0, the Dodgers broke through in the fourth inning when Gordon doubled and Elian Herrera tripled over the head of center fielder Andres Torres.

Gordon was congratulated up and down the dugout after crossing the plate, and Juan Rivera drove in another run with a sharp single through the box. All three hits came with none out.

"I did see some jumping and hooting and hollering there, but we tried to stay focused because we still had a game to play," Dodgers catcher Matt Treanor said.

The shutout string was the Dodgers' longest since the 1966 World Series against Baltimore, when they were blanked over the final 33 innings by Moe Drabowsky, Jim Palmer, Wally Bunker and Dave McNally. The franchise mark is 41 scoreless innings, set in August 1908 when they were known as the Brooklyn Superbas.

"You don't even think about runs. We were just trying to build innings and put together good at-bats, and nothing was happening," Treanor said. "It's a frustrating feeling. Sometimes guys wanted to do more, and more is usually less in baseball. It was really tough. I mean, you don't go out there saying: 'Damn, we didn't score again this inning.'"

Chris Young (2-1) allowed two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings, striking out six and walking none.

Relievers Tim Byrdak and Jon Rauch followed and then Bobby Parnell, getting his first save opportunity since closer Frank Francisco went on the disabled list, pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the year.

Chris Capuano (9-3) gave up three runs, five hits and no walks over seven innings. It was first start against the Mets since leaving them to sign a two-year, $10 million contract with the Dodgers in December.

The Mets are the only NL club the 33-year-old left-hander has never beaten — including five starts with Milwaukee in which he was 0-4 with a 6.35 ERA. Capuano came in 5-0 with a 1.57 ERA in his seven previous home starts this season.

The Mets, who came in with the second-best average in the majors with runners in scoring position and two outs, regained the lead in the fifth with a two-out double by Torres after Mike Nickeas singled, advanced on Young's sacrifice and stole third. New York leads the majors with 167 two-out runs.

Wright, who had a season-high five RBIs in Wednesday's 17-1 rout of the Cubs at Wrigley Field, doubled home a run in the first. In the fourth, he golfed a drive into the left-field pavilion.

It was his ninth homer and 192nd of his career, tying Howard Johnson for third place on the Mets' career list behind Darryl Strawberry (252) and Mike Piazza (220).

NOTES: The Dodgers are 3-10 since the NHL champion Kings stopped by Chavez Ravine to show off the Stanley Cup they won two nights earlier. At the time, they led the Giants by 4½ games. ... Dodgers RF Andre Ethier, who strained the oblique muscle on his left side while checking his swing in Wednesday's game, did not play. He is 12 for 29 with six homers against Young. "At this point, we're kind of day to day," manager Don Mattingly said. "Yesterday I kind of assumed we were going to be in a DL situation. But the docs looked at it and didn't see any swelling, so the news couldn't be any better as far as Andre is concerned." ... The Dodgers optioned OF Ivan DeJesus Jr. to Triple-A and recalled RF Scott Van Slyke, who batted fifth and was 0 for 4. ... The Dodgers have reached an agreement on a seven-year, $42 million contract with Cuban defector Yasiel Puig. The deal for the 21-year-old outfielder is expected to be completed on Friday, pending a physical.