By STEVE DILBECK
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Another day, another power outburst by the Los Angeles Dodgers. And the struggling New York Mets were in no mood for Yasiel Puig’s antics.
Puig riled the frustrated Mets with a long look at his three-run homer, Yasmani Grandal added two solo shots and the streaking Dodgers took over first place in the NL West by battering New York pitching again for an 8-2 victory Wednesday night.
Rich Hill turned in his best five innings of the season for the Dodgers, who have won six straight and 12 of 13. They jumped a half-game ahead of Colorado, which had its six-game winning streak snapped with a 16-5 loss to Arizona.
Puig posed at home plate and admired his fourth-inning drive off rookie Tyler Pill, irritating Mets first baseman Wilmer Flores, who said something to Puig as the Cuban slugger rounded the bag.
Puig looked back at Flores as he was trotting toward second and cursed at him, Flores said.
“I just told him to run the bases, that was it,” Flores said. “I don’t think he knows what having respect for the game is. We’re playing horrible right now, we don’t need his [behavior].”
Puig claimed he did not remember the exchange.
“He disrespected us,” Flores said. “I think there’s a way to enjoy a home run. That was too much.”
Between innings, Mets veteran Jose Reyes and outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, also from Cuba, spoke with Puig on the field.
“After I talked to Cespedes, he told me, ‘Try to run a little bit faster,’ and tried to give me some advice,” Puig said through a translator. “I don’t look at it that way, but it is what it is.”
It’s far from the first time Puig has annoyed an opponent, but there was no obvious attempt at retaliation from the Mets.
“We’ve got bigger problems than somebody’s home run trot right now,” manager Terry Collins said.
Outscored 30-8 in the first three games of this four-game series, the banged-up Mets (31-40) have dropped six of seven overall and are nine games under .500 for the first time since Sept. 2, 2014.
They’ve given up 12 homers in the series, and the Dodgers have gone deep in 13 consecutive games.
“Historically, it’s a moment in time you have to appreciate,” Hill said.
Hill (4-3) gave up a leadoff home run to Curtis Granderson, then held the Mets scoreless for the rest of his five innings. He struck out a season-high eight and allowed four hits, but became the first pitcher in major league history to last five or fewer innings in each of his first nine starts in a season.
The Dodgers tied the score on Hill’s sacrifice fly in the third, his first RBI since June 19, 2009.
They took the lead in the fourth after rookie Cody Bellinger doubled and advanced to third on right fielder Jay Bruce’s throwing error. Logan Forsythe’s double drove in the go-ahead run. After an intentional walk to Joc Pederson, Puig launched his 13th home run.
Grandal added his first solo shot in the sixth and second in the eighth. He has three homers in his last two games and nine on the season.
Pill went six innings, yielding six runs and five hits.
Marlins 2, Nationals 1
MIAMI — Max Scherzer’s bid for the third no-hitter of his big league career ended with one out in the eighth inning, and he then gave up two unearned runs and the Miami Marlins rallied to beat the Washington Nationals.
Padres 3, Cubs 2
CHICAGO — Erick Aybar hit a tying home run in the sixth inning, Luis Torrens walked with the bases loaded against Koji Uehara in the eighth and San Diego stopped a three-game losing streak by beating Chicago.
Chicago rookie Ian Happ hit a two-run homer in the fourth against reliever Craig Stammen, going deep for the second straight game and third time in four.
Brewers 4, Pirates 3
MILWAUKEE — Domingo Santana hit a two-run home run off Pirates reliever Daniel Hudson in the seventh inning to lift the Brewers.
Braves 5, Giants 3
ATLANTA — Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer off Cory Gearrin in the 11th inning to lift the Braves to a win over the Giants.
The homer, the third of the game for Atlanta, was Kemp’s seventh game-ending shot of his career.
Diamondbacks 16, Rockies 5
DENVER — Taijuan Walker pitched six solid innings and slapped an RBI single during Arizona’s biggest inning ever on the road — a 10-run fourth — and the Diamondbacks went on to beat the Rockies.
Cardinals 7, Phillies 6, 10 innings
PHILADELPHIA — Tommy Pham’s second solo homer off Hector Neris in the ninth inning tied it and St. Louis rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Philadelphia in 10 innings.
Jedd Gyorko hit a two-run homer and pinch-hitter Jose Martinez also connected for St. Louis.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Yankees 8, Angels 4
NEW YORK — Didi Gregorius and Matt Holliday each hit a go-ahead homer and New York piled on from there, lifting the Yankees over Los Angeles to snap a season-high seven-game losing streak.
New York’s skid was its longest since 2007. The Yankees haven’t lost eight straight since August 1995. They moved back ahead of Boston for first place in the AL East a night after losing the division lead for the first time since mid-May.
Mariners 7, Tigers 5
SEATTLE — Jarrod Dyson’s bunt single broke up Justin Verlander’s bid for a perfect game in the sixth inning and sparked Seattle to a comeback win over Detroit.
Astros 5, Athletics 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Carlos Correa homered, Mike Fiers won his fourth straight decision and the major league-best Houston Astros won their ninth consecutive game in Oakland.
Evan Gattis hit a two-run single in the sixth to break a scoreless tie and back Fiers (5-2).
The right-hander went six innings to win his seventh consecutive decision on the road for Houston (49-24).
Blue Jays 7, Rangers 5
ARLINGTON, Texas — Darwin Barney’s two-run homer capped a six-run first inning and the Blue Jays held on for a win over the Rangers.
Ryan Goins drove in three runs for Toronto, including a two-run double in the first that preceded Barney’s homer off Tyson Ross (1-1). Barney was 4 for 40 in his previous 15 games.
Indians 5, Orioles 1
BALTIMORE — Carlos Carrasco struck out 10, Francisco Lindor homered and the Indians defeated the skidding Orioles for their seventh win in eight games.
Carrasco (8-3) allowed seven hits and walked none over six-plus innings to win his third straight start. The right-hander struck out every Baltimore starter except Trey Mancini to reach double figures in strikeouts for the 11th time in his career.
Royals 6, Red Sox 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Salvador Perez hit his first career grand slam, connecting in the eighth inning to rally Kansas City over Boston.
The Royals have won nine of 11 and moved within a game of .500.
Twins 4, White Sox 2
MINNEAPOLIS — Jose Berrios won his fourth straight start for Minnesota and Miguel Sano homered for the second straight game as the Twins beat the White Sox behind two of their brightest young stars.
INTERLEAGUE
Rays 8, Reds 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay left fielder Mallex Smith rushed in to tag out speedy Billy Hamilton after a lengthy rundown, highlighting the Rays win over Cincinnati.
Trevor Plouffe homered for his new team and Taylor Featherston also connected for Tampa Bay.
Erasmo Ramirez (4-2), who was 0-2 with a 10.06 ERA over his previous four starts, held the Reds hitless until Scott Schebler hit his 20th home run leading off the fifth.
