Kershaw also threw a fat, 2-and-0 fastball to Daniel Murphy in the fourth inning that Murphy turned on and sent over the wall in right field for a solo home run, and walked the bases loaded in the seventh inning, enough missteps for the Mets to take Game 1 of the National League Division Series, 3-1, at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw is no-doubt the best pitcher in the game still and deGrom is one of a couple of young Mets starters that could prove to be the best rotation in the game very soon.
Advertisement
“I’ve seen him”, Mattingly said.
Kershaw has also lost his last four postseason starts with an ERA over 7. You can expect the first two games of the series to be very close ballgames.
I don’t care if he is the greatest pitcher on the planet – Kershaw shouldn’t have to be flawless to try and win games.
“I definitely remember”, he said, “but it’s a new team, new season and, hopefully, for me a new outcome”. He was drafted on the ninth round by the Mets in 2010 and missed his first minor-league season the next year after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
On the mound, the Mets will counter with Jacob deGrom (14-8, 2.54 ERA) in the opener followed by hard-throwing rookie Noah Syndergaard (9-7, 3.24) in Game 2. “I talked to the guys down there that saw him, and they said outside of being a little rusty in the first inning, after that he was really good, so we put him on”.
The Mets losing out on home field means a deciding Game 5 would be held at Dodger Stadium, where Los Angeles went 55-26 this year. Throughout his career Cespedes has seemed to shine when the lights are the brightest, and he has hit.
Now he finds himself at the center of the spotlight again, with a chance to personify why the Mets have staked their future on their group of explosive young arms.
The last time the Dodgers and the Mets played in the postseason, the Dodgers had one of the greatest TOOTBLANs of alltime and the Mets beat Derek Lowe, Hong-chi Kuo and Greg Maddux to sweep the Dodgers. New York could shock us and win Game 1, but the Dodgers should be able to defend their home field this evening.
“I think he’s just not been overwhelmed at all”. If Puig does make the line up then it would certainly be a big boost for the Dodgers and may tilt the advantage to Los Angeles. He always has been a natural athlete (nationally ranked junior tennis player, golfer who can hit the ball 300 yards) with a special affinity and flair for baseball.
Advertisement
In 2009, CC Sabathia of the Yankees had two consecutive quality starts in the playoffs on Three Days Rest. He went 19-3 with an ERA of 1.66. “Clayton Kershaw is the first pitcher to reach the 300-strikeout milestone since Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson in 2002″. However, he returned last week and played in the Dodgers’ last two games, starting and getting a hit in the first one. The July acquisition of two-time All-Star Tyler Clippard gave the Mets an experienced setup man. The Dodgers had issues in that department for parts of the season, but Chris Hatcher stepped up with solid performances down the stretch.
