LOS ANGELES – Celebrities love to attach themselves to professional athletes, but the pairing of Dodgers infielder Nick Punto and pint-sized actor Danny DeVito is kind of an oddity.
Until Monday night, they had never met. But after Punto hit a home run in the seventh inning, an ecstatic DeVito leaned over the end of the dugout so he could exchange high fives with his new BFF.
This is how it is at Dodger Stadium. Everybody loves a winner.
Punto's homer was the finishing touch on a 4-2 victory over the New York Mets that extended the Dodgers' winning streak to a season-best six games and gave them a 38-8 record since June 22 -- the franchise's best 46-game stretch since the 1899 Brooklyn Superbas had the same mark.
That's historic, but in the here and now, the Dodgers are a hot ticket. In the past few weeks, they've played to sellout crowds that have included Kobe Bryant, Jay-Z, Billy Crystal, Samuel L. Jackson and Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad.” Ice Cube attended Monday's game. So did "Modern Family" star Eric Stonestreet.
And, of course, DeVito, who wore an authentic Punto No. 7 jersey that was taken from Punto's locker by teammate Skip Schumaker.
According to Punto, Schumaker insists there's a resemblance between the player and the comedic actor. That's debatable, but Punto clearly doesn't mind.
"I'm fine with it," he said. "Danny's my guy. I'm going to make him come to a bunch more games here."
Punto's homer came after the Dodgers spotted the Mets a 2-0 lead and the Dodgers pulled ahead 3-2 in the seventh. Singles by Carl Crawford and Mark Ellis, both off the glove of New York second baseman Daniel Murphy, set up a line single to left-center by Adrian Gonzalez.
Crawford scored on the hit, and Ellis came home when the throw to third by center fielder Juan Lagares bounced into the Dodgers dugout, tying the game. A sacrifice fly by Yasiel Puig put the Dodgers in front.
Charmed? It would seem the Dodgers are. They maintained their 7½-game lead over the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West and are now 21-3 since the All-Star break. They haven't been 18 games over .500 since the last game of the 2009 season (95-67).
"So far, so good, right?" manager Don Mattingly said.
It looked that way after starter Ricky Nolasco struggled through the first two innings, yielding five hits and two runs. But he gave up just one hit over the next four innings, just enough time to give his team a chance to come back.
"Nobody gets down on ourselves," Nolasco said "We finally got to them in the sixth, and it was enough to win."
And enough to send DeVito into sheer jubilation.
After the game, DeVito rushed onto the field for a hug from Punto.
"I've never seen someone so excited," Punto said. "He was thrilled. He was like, 'How'd that feel, man? It felt amazing for me. It must've felt great for you.'"
That's a pretty good description for what the Dodgers are doing.
"It's a special group," Punto said. "It's one of those teams where hopefully special things can happen."
They already are.
