Nomar went 2 for 3 with three RBI, and James Loney and Matt Kemp also had two hits apiece. Derek Lowe pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit. But Mike Koplove blew a 5-3 lead in the ninth after issuing a leadoff walk, and he was helped along by a dropped fly ball by John-Ford Griffin in right field that was ruled a hit. Fernando De La Cruz actually gave up the game-winning hit on a two-out blooper to center by Angel Pagan, but all the runs were charged to Koplove. Mets sent a team that barely met baseball's requirements of at least four ``regular'' players, but they still managed to drop the Dodgers to 1-3 for the spring.
It might have been a meaningless exhibition, but Joe Torre didn't take kindly to the loss given the way it happened.
``I don't care where you lose games, it's not fun to lose games,'' Torre said. ``If somebody beats you, it's not fun. But if you beat yourself, that's something you can't allow to happen, and we did that. We walked a couple of leadoff hitters, and they scored. Our defense didn't make a play. These are things that are hard to swallow, but in spring training. Everybody is trying to make an impression, and sometimes, that leads to problems.''