Hernández sends Dodgers past Mets 7-5 in 13 innings in wild and rainy NLCS rematch

NEW YORK (AP) — Teoscar Hernández led off the 13th inning with an RBI double and the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the New York Mets 7-5 in a wild rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series on a rainy Friday night at Citi Field.

As the clock approached midnight, New York tied it with three runs in the ninth off closer Tanner Scott. Jeff McNeil laced a two-run triple and Tyrone Taylor followed with an RBI single to make it 5-all, sending hardy fans left in a crowd of 40,449 into a frenzy after they waited out a 98-minute rain delay in the third.

But the Mets squandered chance after chance to win over the final five innings — sometimes with their best hitters at the plate — and Los Angeles finally broke through in the 13th against Huascar Brazobán (3-1), the ninth New York pitcher.

Automatic runner Will Smith scored from second on the double by Hernández, who also had an early two-run single. Hernández scrambled to third on Hyeseong Kim's single and came home on Andy Pages’ sacrifice fly to make it 7-5.

Luis García (2-0) pitched 2 1/3 hitless innings for the win, raising his arms on the mound when center fielder Tommy Edman made a sliding catch at 12:56 a.m. for the final out of a game that took 4 hours, 8 minutes — not including the rain delay.

Moments later, a message on the giant videoboard reminded fans to stick around for the fireworks show that followed.

Smith, Pages and Max Muncy each had an RBI single for the Dodgers, who won the 2024 NLCS in six games on the way to their eighth World Series title. Los Angeles is 20-5 at Citi Field since 2017, including the postseason.

Brett Baty homered for the Mets, who have lost six of eight, and Pete Alonso was gifted a sacrifice fly on an unusual play in the fourth.

It appeared Hernández threw out Starling Marte at the plate with a strong peg from right field, but umpire Tripp Gibson called obstruction on Muncy at third base for blocking Marte’s view of Hernández making the catch.

Clayton Kershaw’s second start for the Dodgers this season since coming off the injured list was cut short by the rain delay in the top of the third.

Mets rookie Luisangel Acuña stranded the potential winning run at third base in the ninth and 11th. Alonso flied out to the center-field warning track with two runners aboard to conclude the 10th. And with the Dodgers employing a five-man infield after a pair of intentional walks, García got Luis Torrens to ground into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the 12th.

Scott was handed his fourth blown save in 14 chances this season.

Dodgers RHP Tony Gonsolin (2-0, 4.05 ERA) makes his fifth start of the season Saturday night against LHP David Peterson (2-2, 2.86).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, May 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reacts after defeating the New York Mets during the 13th inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Grounds crew members cover the field during the third inning of a baseball game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, May 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York Mets' Starling Marte, second from right, scores against Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith, right, on a sacrifice fly hit by Pete Alonso during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández, right, reacts after scoring on a single hit by Andy Pages with Michael Conforto, left, during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Friday, May 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)