For the second night in a row the Dodgers fell behind early, but for the second night in a row there was no panic, not even against the amazing Matt Harvey. Hyun-jin Ryu out-dueled the Mets right-hander, and timely hitting gave the Dodgers a 4-2 win over the New York for a season-high seven-game winning streak.
The Dodgers are 22-3 since the All-Star break and are 39-8 in their last 47 contests, the best 47-game stretch since the 1951 New York Giants.
The Dodgers are also the first National League team to win 40 of 50 games since the 1975 Cincinnati Reds.
Los Angeles needed the win to remain 7½ games ahead of the Diamondbacks, who got more heroics from first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on Tuesday night, for the second game in a row.
The Mets struck early with a line drive home run by Juan Lagares in the first inning off Ryu, a ball down the left field line that made it into the first row of seats next to the Dodgers bullpen.
That was all the action the Dodgers bullpen saw for the next few hours, as Ryu pitched seven innings and didn't allow any other runs. Ryu has allowed just five runs (four earned) in his last four starts, with 25 strikeouts and two walks.
Ryu won his 12th game of the year and improved to 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA at Dodger Stadium, with 61 strikeouts and 19 walks. The Dodgers have won Ryu's last nine starts.
The Dodgers pecked and pecked against Harvey in the first four innings to no avail, thanks in part to three double plays, including one by Yasiel Puig, who has amazingly grounded into three double plays in his last four games after doing so just once in his first 58 contests.
Puig did have two hits in the game, his 28th multi-hit game in 59 starts.
But with runners at the corners in the fifth inning Nick Punto doubled down the left field line to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Punto is hitting .458 (11-for-24) with eight RBI in August, including at least one hit in all seven starts this month.
A.J. Ellis padded the lead in the sixth inning with a two-out, two-run single off Harvey for a 4-1 lead. Ellis has 28 RBI in his last 32 starts.
Harvey allowed four runs for just the fourth time in 24 starts this season, and suffered his fourth loss. His WHIP raised from 0.858 to 0.887, slipping to second place in MLB behind Clayton Kershaw (0.867).
Kenley Jansen recorded the final three outs for his 19th save, including his 12th consecutive successful conversion. But he did allow a walk, and a run, the first time for both since July 23. Jansen struck out 18 batters in between walks.
Juan Uribe went 2-for-3 with a run scored to extend his hitting streak to five games. He is hitting .471 (8-for-17) during that span.
Up next
The Dodgers go for the sweep on Wednesday night, with Chris Capuano facing his former team. Dillon Gee starts the series finale for the Mets.
Tuesday particulars
Home run: Juan Lagares (4)
WP - Hyun-jin Ryu (12-3): 7 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
LP - Matt Harvey (9-4): 6 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Sv - Kenley Jansen (19): 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk