Turner's 2-run single wins it for Mets

For days, Chris Young knew something wasn't right with his shoulder, that he might not be able to start against the Dodgers Saturday night.

The Mets knew, too, so they had a backup plan.

Young could not get loose while attempting to warm up and was scratched about 15 minutes before game time after long-tossing in the outfield.

Cue Dillon Gee, who took Young's place on the bullpen mound for warm-ups and the main mound for the top of the first inning.

Gee pitched into the sixth and the Mets beat the Dodgers, 4-2, on pinch hitter Justin Turner's tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth inning.

Francisco Rodriguez, pitching for the third straight day, threw a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts for his ninth save as the Mets won their third straight and improved to 15-18.

The Mets also ended Dodgers rightfielder Andre Ethier's hitting streak at 30 games. He went 0-for-4 with a walk.

Young will be stuffing his 6-10 frame into an MRI tube this morning to check what the Mets have initially diagnosed as tightness or stiffness in the back of the shoulder.

Young has a long history of shoulder troubles and was on the disabled list for 10 days last month with biceps tendinitis. General manager Sandy Alderson said the DL was a possibility, but also said Young could make his next start next weekend in Houston.

"It's very possible that if the MRI is good, then we still could expect to pitch him maybe sometime in Houston," Alderson said. "So it's not necessarily going to be a DL for him."

Alderson said the Mets would add lefthander Pat Misch for bullpen depth before Sunday's series finale with the Dodgers.

Young said he first felt the tightness after throwing a bullpen session two days after his last outing. He had two anti-inflammatory shots in an attempt to get him ready for Saturday night, he said. It didn't work.

"Was a little concerned as the week progressed," he said. "Today went out and it had improved, but not to the point where I let it go 100 percent, certainly not to the level I need to be successful out there. At that point, I felt for multiple reasons it wasn't the right thing to do to go out there."

One Dodger who was sorry to see Young scratched: Ethier, who was 12-for-29 (.414) against him with two doubles, six home runs and five walks. Ethier had never faced Gee, the righthander who has been pitching out of the bullpen but has a starter's DNA. He was told Friday to be ready just in case.

Gee, who last started on April 23, left after 51/3 innings with the score tied at 2.

That's how it remained into the bottom of the eighth, when Jason Bay led off with a walk against Mike MacDougal (0-1). One batter later, Jason Pridie (3-for-3) dropped a sacrifice bunt down -- manager Terry Collins called for one against tough lefthander Hong-Chih Kuo even though there was one out -- and Pridie reached when Kuo threw the ball over first baseman James Loney's head for an error.

Pinch hitter Ronny Paulino walked against Matt Guerrier before Turner sent a long drive to straightaway center. It hit off the glove of Matt Kemp as two runs scored. Paulino only made it as far as second base, so Turner had to stop at first.

The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the second against Jon Garland on a Josh Thole sacrifice fly and Jose Reyes' two-out RBI single (before wandering off first and being picked off by catcher Dioner Navarro).