Josh Wall gets a chance, a win, and a ticket out

NEW YORK -- Relief pitcher Josh Wall is expected to be sent back to triple-A Albuquerque on Monday when the Dodgers activate starter Chad Billingsley from the 15-day disabled list.

Wall had been wondering whether he would pitch in a game before then. He was called up to the major leagues for the first time on July 14, but the closest he came was warming up a couple times.

Until Sunday. With the score tied. In the 11th inning.

Wall earned a victory in his major league debut, as he pitched a scoreless 11th inning and the Dodgers scored five times in the top of the 12th to beat the New York Mets, 8-3.

“Pretty cool, pretty amazing experience,� Wall said.

Manager Don Mattingly acknowledged this wasn’t the ideal setting for a big league debut.

“But we were at the point where there’s really nobody else,� Mattingly said.

Closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Ronald Belisario were unavailable because they had pitched in the previous two games. Mattingly wanted to avoid using overworked Josh Lindblom, if possible (he did pitch the bottom of the 12th). Scott Elbert, Shawn Tolleson, Jamey Wright and Javy Guerra had already pitched.

“When it was tied, we went into extra innings, I thought I might have a chance to pitch,� Wall said. “I was definitely glad I could get in there and help the team win.�

Mattingly said he was concerned that Wall hadn’t pitched in more than a week. As the closer for the Albuquerque Isotopes, Wall was used to pitching every couple of days.

When Wall took the mound, he tried to tell himself this was no different from what he was doing in Albuquerque.

“I tried to make my mind believe that’s what the situation was,� Wall said.

He got Jordany Valdespin to fly out to center field. He gave up a hit to David Wright, but he was caught attempting to steal second base. Ike Davis flied out to right.

Eovaldi adds a cutter

For a pitcher armed with a mid-90s fastball, Nathan Eovaldi hadn’t struck out many batters this year. He came into his latest start with a modest 27 strikeouts in 52 innings.

In the 41/3 innings he pitched Sunday, Eovaldi struck out seven batters.

Eovaldi credited his cut fastball, which he was taught by pitching coach Rick Honeycutt only days earlier in a bullpen session.

“It worked, so we kept using it,� Eovaldi said.

Eovaldi didn’t pitch poorly, limiting the Mets to a run. But with his pitch count at 96, men on the corners, the next four hitters left-handed, Mattingly elected to call on left-hander Elbert to replace him.

Short hops

The last time the Dodgers swept the Mets in a three-game series in New York was in 2002. . . . Elbert hasn’t given up a run in his last eight appearances. He has pitched eight innings in that span.

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