DAVID’S GOLIATH: David Wright blasts a solo home run in the fourth inning to help lead the Mets and Chris Young (inset) to a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers last night. (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES — He’s not Cy Young, but simply being Chris Young is good enough for the Mets.
As dependable as the sun rising in the East, the veteran Young last night continued an impressive string of starts since returning from surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his right shoulder.
Young pitched strongly into the seventh and David Wright drove in two more runs — giving him seven RBIs over his last two games — leading the Mets’ 3-2 victory over the Dodgers before 49,006 at Chavez Ravine.
The Mets (41-36) won their second straight and moved to within 3 1/2 games of the first-place Nationals in the NL East. Manager Terry Collins will send R.A. Dickey to the mound against Aaron Harang tonight, hoping the knuckleballer can regain some of his mojo after getting thumped by the Yankees on Sunday.
Daniel Murphy made the defensive play of the game when he ranged behind second base on Juan Rivera’s chopper against Jon Rauch to start a picturesque 4-6-3 double play.
Bobby Parnell then pitched a perfect ninth to earn his first save of the season as closer Frank Francisco sits on the disabled list with a strained left oblique.
Young (2-1) gave the Mets a fifth straight solid start since rejoining the team, allowing two earned runs on six hits with no walks and six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.
“He stabilizes the back end of that rotation, you know what you’re going to get from him — six or seven quality innings and he’s going to keep you in a game,” Collins said before the game.
“[General manager] Sandy [Alderson] has said many times he’s never seen this guy get roughed up. And you look up and he never has. They might get two [runs]. They might get three, but you’re always going to be in the game. For a guy pitching in that situation that really helps your staff a lot.”
The Mets bullpen came up big. Tim Byrdak escaped trouble in the seventh by striking out Dee Gordon with the tying and go-ahead run on base before Rauch and Parnell closed the deal.
Chris Capuano (9-3), who pitched last season for the Mets, held his former team to three earned runs on five hits over seven innings. The lefty had allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his previous three starts.
Andres Torres slashed a two-out RBI double in the fifth that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. Mike Nickeas, who grew up in nearby Westlake Village and was playing his first game at Dodger Stadium since high school, stroked a one-out single to begin the rally and went to second on Young’s sacrifice bunt.
Elian Herrera’s RBI triple in the fourth got the Dodgers their first run – and in the process snapped the team’s scoreless streak at 33 innings. Gordon doubled leading off the inning and Herrera followed with a shot over Torres’ head in center.
Rivera’s RBI single moments later made it 2-2, but Young then retired the next three batters. Young retired the first nine batters he faced before Gordon’s double ended the early perfecto watch.
Wright’s homer leading off the fourth gave the Mets a 2-0 lead. It was Wright’s ninth homer of the season and gave him seven RBIs over his last two games.
Wright’s RBI double in the first got the Mets started after Ruben Tejada singled and took second on a wild pitch.