NEW YORK _ Hyun-Jin Ryu permitted one hit in seven innings, the lineup provided home runs from Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger, and the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Mets out of Citi Field in an 8-0 victory.
Winners of four in a row, the Dodgers (79-32) demolished the Mets during these last three nights by the cumulative score of 21-4. After a day off Monday, they will finish this three-city trip in Arizona.
These are heady times for the Dodgers. They own the best record in the sport, and could become only the third team to win 110 games since 1954. A victory Saturday improved their record to 43-7 across the previous 50 games, a pace untouched since the 1912 New York Giants.
The players appeared unperturbed by the historical implications. They breeze through each day.
On Saturday, the Mets distributed 15,000 necklaces bearing outfielder Yoenis Cespedes' No. 52 in faux diamonds. Enrique Hernandez procured one and wore it around the clubhouse on Sunday afternoon.
Across the room, Kenley Jansen pestered Alex Wood, a Charlotte native, about asking Hornets owner Michael Jordan to sign his sneakers. In the dugout, Dave Roberts fielded questions about Yu Darvish pitching left-handed and Yasiel Puig planting kisses on hitting coach Turner Ward.
The ease carried into the game. The Dodgers hung three runs on Mets starter Steven Matz in the first inning in unorthodox fashion: They used the stolen base.
The team does not boast plentiful speed, but they capitalized on Matz's trouble holding runners. With two outs, Turner charged for second base and avoided a tag by rookie shortstop Amed Rosario. Initially ruled out, Turner took the base when the call was overturned by replay review.
Bellinger followed with a walk. Turner and Bellinger executed a double steal with Logan Forsythe at the plate. Forsythe bounced a curveball back up the middle, threading the ball into center field for a two-run single. Up came Austin Barnes, who banged an RBI double into the left-field corner.
Two innings later, Turner returned to torment his former employers. Before Saturday, he had gone 13 games in between homers. He launched a solo shot during Saturday's late-game fusillade. On Sunday, he hammered a 91-mph fastball for a two-run shot.
The lead expanded to five, and Ryu was rolling. He struck out the side in the first and wiped out six in the first three innings. He finished with eight strikeouts.
The Dodgers offense went quiet until the eighth. On the mound was Mets reliever Josh Smoker. Turner ripped a two-out double. Bellinger crushed a waist-high fastball for his 32nd homer of the season.
