NEW YORK (Interstat) — The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their dominance over the New York Mets with a 4-3 victory Saturday night at Citi Field, powered by Kyle Tucker’s early home run and a clutch relief performance from Brock Stewart.

The Dodgers improved to 67-38, while the Mets fell to 43-62 before a crowd of 36,356. The game lasted 2 hours, 48 minutes.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned his 11th win against six losses, allowing one run on five hits over six innings with five strikeouts and four walks. Nolan McLean took the loss, dropping to 7-6 after giving up four runs, two earned, on seven hits over six innings with seven strikeouts. Stewart notched his first save of the season with a perfect ninth inning.

The Dodgers struck first in the third inning. Tucker led off with a solo home run to right field, his ninth of the season, putting Los Angeles ahead 1-0. After Teoscar Hernandez struck out, Dalton Rushing singled to left. Shohei Ohtani reached on a fielder’s choice with Rushing advancing to third on a throwing error by first baseman Brett Baty. Andy Pages then grounded into a force out that scored Rushing, making it 2-0. Freddie Freeman singled, moving Pages to third, and Max Muncy struck out to end the inning, but not before a wild pitch brought home Pages for a 3-0 lead.

The Dodgers added a run in the fifth. Hernandez doubled to right, advanced on a strikeout and a called third strike to Ohtani, then scored on Pages’ single to right for a 4-0 advantage. Freeman followed with another single, but Muncy struck out to strand two.

The Mets answered in the bottom of the fifth. Baty singled to center and Francisco Alvarez lined a single to left, putting runners at first and second. A.J. Ewing grounded into a force out, but Baty moved to third. Francisco Lindor popped out, then Bo Bichette singled to left, scoring Baty to cut the deficit to 4-1. Carson Benge grounded out to end the threat.

Both teams had opportunities in the middle innings. In the sixth, the Dodgers loaded the bases on a single by Mookie Betts and walks to Tucker and Hernandez, but Rushing lined into a double play to shortstop Francisco Lindor, erasing Tucker at second. The Mets threatened in the sixth when Luis Robert Jr. walked, but Jorge Polanco struck out, Marcus Semien flied out and Brett Baty was called out on strikes after a successful challenge by the Dodgers.

The Mets mounted a comeback in the eighth. Benge was hit by a pitch, Robert walked and both advanced on a called third strike to Polanco. Marcus Semien struck out, bringing up pinch-hitter Tyrone Taylor, who doubled sharply to left, scoring Benge and Robert to pull the Mets within 4-3. Tanner Scott intentionally walked Alvarez, but Ewing struck out to end the rally.

Stewart entered in the ninth and retired the side in order. Lindor struck out, Bichette grounded out and Benge struck out swinging to seal the win.

Key performances included Taylor’s pinch-hit double with two runs batted in, Bichette’s two hits and an RBI, and Alvarez’s single and walk. For the Dodgers, Tucker’s home run and two hits, Freeman’s three singles and Pages’ two hits with two runs batted in were crucial. On the mound, Daniel Duarte threw two scoreless innings of relief for the Mets, allowing one hit with two strikeouts. Huascar Brazoban also pitched a scoreless inning.

The most critical sequence came in the bottom of the eighth, when the Mets loaded the bases with no outs on a hit-by-pitch and a walk, then saw both Polanco and Semien strike out before Taylor’s double brought the tying run to the plate. That two-run double brought the Mets within one, but the rally stalled when Alvarez was intentionally walked and Ewing struck out, leaving the potential go-ahead run in scoring position.

The Dodgers have now won seven of their last 10 games and hold a commanding lead in the National League West. The Mets have lost 10 of their last 12 and remain near the bottom of the NL East. The teams conclude their series Sunday afternoon before the Dodgers return home to face Seattle and the Mets host Atlanta.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Los Angeles Dodgers 5, New York Mets 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Dodgers a 66.00 percent probability to win. Los Angeles was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of seven went under the over-under line of eight.