Smith's HR in 10th helps LA snap extras skid

NEW YORK -- Will Smith has a knack for coming up big in the clutch. The young Dodgers catcher has already delivered plenty of important hits for the club over his first few years in the Majors, and he came into Friday’s game with excellent numbers in clutch situations this season.

Smith can go ahead and add another clutch hit to his resume. His go-ahead two-run homer leading off the 10th inning helped the Dodgers get a much-needed 6-5 win over the Mets at Citi Field. The Dodgers became the fourth team to reach the 70-win mark this season.

“I’ve had success late in the game, so yeah, I feel confident,” Smith said about hitting in late-game situations. “I feel like I know what I’m doing and stick to my plan and am able to execute in those situations. It’s a lot of fun.”

Smith’s blast helped the Dodgers stay five games behind the Giants in the National League West race, but it also allowed Los Angeles to exorcise some demons that have haunted it the entire season.

The Dodgers came into Friday with a 1-12 record in extra innings and a 13-21 mark in one-run games. When asked about the one-run problem before the game, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said, in jest, that they just had to find a way to score one more run than their opponent. They were able to do just that against the Mets.

“We checked a couple boxes with the one-run and extra-inning games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said with a smile. “I can’t explain all those losses, but I can explain tonight that we got a big hit from Will, and Kenley [Jansen] went out there and pitched two innings. Just huge performances by our ballclub.”

It wasn’t always easy for the Dodgers, however. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, they had to navigate through a rough seventh inning. Brusdar Graterol retired the first two batters via strikeout, but he was pulled from the game after giving up a two-out double. Roberts said Graterol pitching in three of the last four games contributed to that decision.

The Dodgers then leaned on left-hander Justin Bruihl with a pair of left-handed bats due up for the Mets. It didn’t work out as Bruihl, who was making his fourth big league appearance, was unable to record an out, allowing the Mets to get back into the game.

After Bruihl’s struggles, the inning got even worse for the Dodgers as Smith was charged with a passed ball on a Blake Treinen fastball up in the zone, which allowed the tying run to score. The Dodgers were able to get out of the frame with the score still tied, but it looked like an inning that has cost L.A. plenty of games this season.

To the Dodgers’ credit, however, they were able to find a way to win despite the seventh inning and some weird happenings, including Matt Beaty inadvertently pinch-hitting for Julio Urías in the sixth and Max Muncy being distracted by a laser from someone in the stands in the ninth.

While it was Smith’s blast that represented the dagger, Jansen deserves a lot of credit as he secured the last six outs of the game. Had the game gone to the 11th inning, the Dodgers would have relied on inexperienced pitchers such as Conner Greene and Edwin Uceta.

“It was a team win. We’ve had a lot of big wins and every win is important, but this was a really gutty performance,” Roberts said. “It was really, really fun to watch. Really good team win.”

Despite being five games behind the Giants in the NL West, their largest deficit this late into a season since ending the 2012 campaign eight games behind San Francisco, the Dodgers have continuously said their main focus is on themselves.

Over the last 46 games, we’ll find out if the Dodgers will win a ninth consecutive division title or if their fate in October will come down to the NL Wild Card Game. If they want to win the division, they’ll have to win close games. Friday was certainly a start.