The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the National League West by 7 1/2 games after rookie left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu outdueled New York Mets ace Matt Harvey and improved to 22-3 in the second half and moved a season-high 19 games over .500.
Ryu tossed seven innings of one-run ball, Nick Punto and A.J. Ellis each had two RBIs, and the Dodgers beat Harvey and the Mets, 4-2, at Dodger Stadium to win their seventh game in a row.
The Dodgers are 39-8 over their past 47 games, the team’s best 47-game run since 1900, and the best mark for a Major League club since the New York Giants had the same record in a period of 47 games in 1951.
“Hyun-Jin was obviously up to the challenge,” said Dodgers manger Don Mattingly. “I was looking forward to how he was going to respond to this little matchup, because he’s kind of came up big every time we’ve had a big game. I was kind of expecting this tonight. He knows that Harvey get a lot of attention about being one of the best pitchers in the game. I think he was definitely motivated by that.”
