David Peralta collected the tie-breaking RBI by beating out the back end of a potential inning-ending double play in the eighth inning Saturday night, and the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers went on to beat the skidding New York Mets 5-1.
Peralta added an RBI single during a three-run ninth, while Mookie Betts went 4-for-4 with a third-inning homer for the Dodgers, who have won six straight.
Betts homered for the eighth time in his last 13 games dating back to June 28, while the four-hit game was his third of the season.
Brandon Nimmo homered in the fourth for the Mets, who have lost four in a row since a season-long six-game winning streak.
The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the sixth and stranded two in the seventh before finally scoring the tie-breaking run against Adam Ottavino (0-4) in the eighth.
Max Muncy singled with one out and went to third on a single by J.D. Martinez. Peralta followed with a sharp grounder to first and Pete Alonso threw high to shortstop Francisco Lindor, who was able to touch second but could not throw to first in time to double up Peralta. Muncy scored on the play.
The Mets threatened in the bottom half, when Tommy Pham worked a leadoff walk and went to third on a single by Francisco Alvarez. But Caleb Ferguson needed just eight pitches to retire the next three batters - pinch hitter Mark Canha on a pop-up and Brett Baty and Luis Guillorme via strikeouts.
The Dodgers added insurance in the ninth. Betts singled, went to third on Will Smith's double and scored when third baseman Baty dropped a pop-up by Muncy. Martinez and Peralta each followed with RBI singles.
Brusdar Graterol (3-2), the third of five Dodgers pitchers, tossed a hitless seventh.
Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out three over five innings. Mets starter Kodai Senga gave up one run on four hits and two walks while striking out nine over six innings.
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