NEW YORK _ It certainly wasn't the starting debut Jerry Blevins imagined. And in the end, the Mets lost another game at home, 8-7, in 11 innings as the Dodgers swept the three-game series.
The Mets have lost six in a row overall, and 13 of their last 14 at Citi Field.
Jason Vargas strained his right calf running the day after his Tuesday start in Colorado, so the Mets needed a starting pitcher for Sunday's game. In what has become a trend with some teams in the majors, Mets manager Mickey Callaway turned to the bullpen and sent Blevins to the hill.
It was bumpy right from the start. Blevins surrendered back-to-back home runs to Kike Hernandez and Max Muncy to open the game, the first of seven solo homers for the Dodgers.
Former Met Justin Turner hit the final one, a blast to left field in the 11th for the go-ahead run.
The seven solo home runs set a National League record, according to Baseball Almanac. The seven home runs allowed by the Mets tied for the most in franchise history.
The Mets are a season-worst 13 games under .500, at 31-44. After opening the season 11-1, they are 20-43 in their last 63 games. Michael Conforto singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch in the 11th inning, but Asdrubal Cabrera flied out to center field to end the game in a 3-hour, 50-minute contest.
Blevins did settle in from the opening two homers, retiring the next six batters in order, including three strikeouts over two innings. The Mets used seven pitchers, with Chris Beck going the longest (22/3 innings), and Chris Flexen, who was called up from Triple-A after Vargas' injury, recorded the loss after surrendering the homer to Turner.
"Almost everybody in the pen is going to pitch today," Callaway said pregame. "So we decided to go with (Blevins) and let them make some decisions with their lineup and kind of go from there."
