LOS ANGELES -- Michael Conforto notched a pair of knocks in his first five plate appearances with runners in scoring position this season. Then he went on a ghastly 0-for-30 run in such situations.
For the first time since March 31, Conforto cashed in with a runner on second. He went the other way for a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning of Thursday's 6-5 win over the Mets at Dodger Stadium, capping a wild rally and securing a split in the four-game set.
Being able to contribute in any capacity to the Dodgers' 21st comeback win was more meaningful to Conforto than the fact it came against the Mets, with whom he spent the first seven years of his big league career.
"It’s less about who it’s against and more about coming through for my team," Conforto said. "It’s been a grind up to this point. All I want to do is go up there and help us win, and in a lot of those situations, I’ve come up short, so to come through today was everything."
When the Dodgers signed Conforto to a one-year, $17 million deal in the offseason, they were hoping they could unlock a version of the veteran outfielder that was closer to his better years with the Mets than his recent stint with the Giants. But he's had an exceedingly slow start, hitting .167 with a .581 OPS.
The night before Conforto's big hit, manager Dave Roberts said he was trying to instill confidence by continuing to give him opportunities in those situations. From the effort Roberts has seen, he believed it was only a matter of time.
"He's been working hard," Roberts said. "We haven't seen that lined ball to left field in quite some time. That speaks to a direct path, through the ball, bat in the hitting zone for a long time. That was a good thing. I hope that we've unlocked something."
The Dodgers entered the eighth inning down a pair of runs. Mookie Betts drew a walk against Mets reliever Reed Garrett to lead off the frame, then was driven home on an RBI double from Will Smith. Smith moved over to third when Teoscar Hernández flied out to center.
This is where it got weird.
Andy Pages grounded a ball toward third base, where it was fielded by Brett Baty. Smith had already left the bag and looked to be caught in no-man's land, but Baty made an errant throw to the plate. Catcher Francisco Alvarez couldn't come up with the ball cleanly and Garrett grabbed it, but the batterymates collided at the plate and couldn't make a play.
Smith slid home safely to tie the game, and the Dodgers were in business.
"This team is full of dogs," said starter Landon Knack, who gave up four runs in 3 1/3 innings. "The bullpen to come in there and kind of just really hold it right there, and for the bats, they can always swing it, so we're never out of the game."
With two outs and Pages on second after a wild pitch from Garrett, Roberts summoned Freddie Freeman -- who had a planned day off -- to pinch-hit. But the Mets intentionally walked Freeman in favor of facing Conforto.
Conforto punched the first pitch he saw to left field at 110.8 mph off the bat. Once he saw the ball fall, he felt a mixture of joy and relief.
His teammates were equally happy to see Conforto come through. He gave a lot of credit to them for trying to help him get over the hump, with both real and symbolic solutions. Last week, they decided that Conforto needed a change and voted as a team for him to use "Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan as his walk-up song. (He got a hit in his first at-bat using it last Friday, then made an out the next time, and that was the end of it.)
"These guys have been awesome," Conforto said. "You spend more time with these guys than your actual family, so they’ve been part of my family. Just trying to keep me smiling, keep me laughing, so it’s been great to have their support."
One big hit doesn't necessarily signal a complete reversal of fortune, but the Dodgers are optimistic that it's the start of a much better run for Conforto.
"Hopefully," Roberts said, "we can look back and say this was the turning point for him."