LOS ANGELES ― The cost of a short-handed bullpen can be paid in two ways: in the moment, or later down the road. The Mets and Dodgers demonstrated both Sunday afternoon.

Leading 2-1 going into the eighth inning, the Dodgers surrendered three runs to fall behind, only to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Then in the 10th, an RBI single by J.D. Davis against closer Craig Kimbrel lifted the Mets to a 5-4 victory.

The see-saw ending was a fitting series finale between the National League’s two best teams. The advantage between the Dodgers (35-19) and Mets (37-19) was decided by two bullpens thrown off-script.

Unusually, the Mets deployed closer Edwin Diaz in the eighth inning to face the Dodgers’ dangerous 1-2-3 hitters: Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner. Seth Lugo, normally a middle reliever, then pitched the ninth with a 4-2 lead.

Lugo allowed a solo home run to Will Smith, retired Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger on groundouts, then engaged Chris Taylor in an eight-pitch duel that ended with a double. The next batter, Eddy Alvarez, punched a line-drive single to the outfield, scoring Taylor to tie the game at 4.

Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel had pitched only once in the previous six days. As is his want, Manager Dave Roberts called on Kimbrel to pitch the ninth inning trailing by two runs. When Kimbrel got through the inning on 10 pitches, he stayed out for the 10th.

Pete Alonso was automatically placed on second base, in accordance with MLB’s extra-inning tiebreaker rule. He scored quickly on a single by J.D. Davis. One batter into the extra inning, the Dodgers trailed 5-4.

Adonis Medina relieved Lugo in the 10th inning and preserved the lead. Trea Turner reached on a catcher’s interference call but the next batter, Smith, struck out to end the game.

The Mets’ three-run eighth inning was made possible two days earlier.

Tyler Anderson threw six efficient innings on Friday, throwing 81 pitches. Manager Dave Roberts acknowledged that Anderson was healthy enough to pitch deeper, but elected to go to his bullpen instead. Roberts ultimately needed Daniel Hudson, presently the Dodgers’ top set-up man, to record the final four outs. That left the 35-year-old right-hander unavailable for the rest of the weekend.

So it was that Brusdar Graterol found himself on the mound in the eighth inning Sunday protecting a 2-1 lead.

New York capitalized on its chance. Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso hit back-to-back doubles, tying the game 2-2 in the span of three pitches.

Alonso later came around to score on a sacrifice fly. Graterol hit Mark Canha with a 99-mph fastball before he was removed in favor of Alex Vesia. The left-hander allowed a single by Tomas Nido that scored Canha, giving the Mets a 4-2 lead.

Dodgers starter Julio Urías threw 5 ⅓ innings. He limited the Mets to exactly two hard-hit balls: a line-drive out by Brandon Nimmo, and a solo home run by Starling Marte in the third inning.

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Urías allowed two walks and a single in the second inning without allowing a run. That was the Mets’ only chance at a big inning until the eighth. Urías bequeathed a runner to Evan Phillips in the sixth inning, but the run didn’t score.

Urias left in line for the victory but, as is their recent custom, the Dodgers didn’t offer the left-hander enough run support. The result was Urías’ first no-decision since April 27.

The Dodgers jumped on Mets starter Trevor Williams early. With Freddie Freeman on second base following a double, Trea Turner banged his sixth home run of the season over the left-field wall.

Up 2-0, the Dodgers could not come up with another big hit. Bellinger doubled in the second inning and was left stranded. Alvarez and Freeman singled in the fifth; Williams struck out Trea Turner to end that inning. Adam Ottavino, Stephen Nogosek and Diaz did not allow a baserunner in the sixth, seventh or eighth innings.