(All games on TBS).
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The Mets won four of seven meetings between the teams, all in that month before Yoenis Cespedes arrived from Detroit in a trade that boosted the Mets anemic offense.
Vin Scully, the Hall of Fame broadcaster and longtime voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, will miss the playoffs after undergoing a medical procedure. If the Mets have a chance at winning the series, they must rely heavily on their young pitching studs.
“I’ve been through it now a bunch; I think this is my fifth postseason now”, Kershaw said. The Dodgers stunned the favorite Mets in the 1988 NLCS on their way to their most recent World Series title. There’s also a few playoff history between the former New York squad and the current New York squad.
But that only translated into 4.12 runs per game, eighth in the National League and right at the league average (4.11). Kershaw took a flawless game into the seventh inning of the opener.
It’s a big loss for the Dodgers and baseball.
In the left-hander’s last four playoff starts, all against the Cardinals, he is 0-4 with a 7.15 ERA. Don Mattingly said as much on the eve of Game 1, how he and his hitters “will have our hands full” starting with Jacob deGrom tonight. The Cuban slugger batted. Still, they score more than St. Louis (689-647) and the duo of Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are more imposing than anything the Cardinals can throw out there-especially with postseason hero one-time Silver Slugger victor Yadier Molina banged up, with a torn left thumb ligament. For now, Ethier figures to start in right field….
The Dodgers have sold out of tickets for Game 1 and 2 of the NLDS against the Mets, so the team is now offering standing-room only tickets in the top deck. If not, it could be the 42-year-old Colon, or deGrom on three days’ rest….
“Experience is great”, Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said.
Mets: After six straight losing seasons, the Mets (90-72) finally turned it around. Kershaw will be going up against a New York offense that transformed itself in the second half and led the NL with 373 runs scored and a. 770 OPS after the All-Star break. He was director of player development for the Dodgers in 2006 when they drafted Kershaw, who began in the Gulf Coast League. Of course, in today’s age of OBP, WAR and VGQ (don’t ask me what that last one is), someone might point out that those Braves had a better record without Spahn and Sain than with them. They all posted similar records, have similar strengths and weakness’s, have great managers, and have comparable levels of talent on their roster. 245 against righties this season, tied for next-to-last in the NL. Cespedes will need to add to his Mets’ legend to ensure they get can win this series. Having three of the five games in the series started by Greinke and Kershaw on regular rest makes this the series for the Dodgers. He also led the league in a stat called Fielding Independent Pitching, a stat that tries to separate the things a pitcher can actually control from those that rely on the fielders behind him. Kershaw and Greinke are still in search of their first. Pederson’s 26 were the second-most by a Dodgers rookie behind Mike Piazza (35) in 1993….
The Mets head into the NLDS with one of the deepest, most talented and interesting rotations in all of baseball, with deGrom taking the ball in Game 1, followed by Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey. But he’s off to a troubling postseason start after missing a mandatory workout, and he apologized to the team for arriving late…. Especially in New York. In his postseason career, he is 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA. Much of that damage has been done by the Cardinals.
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The age of Corey Seager, who will be the first Dodger position player ever to start a postseason game at age 21.
