Unfortunately for Los Angeles, they have been eliminated each and every time.
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Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (23) connects for…
Steven Matz pitched well in the biggest game of his life to date, but got touched up in the third inning because of two bad curveballs, a few bad BABIP luck, and a boot from a normally sure-handed defender. Should Los Angeles pull off the improbable, Utley’s case will continue to be a story.
With left-hander Steven Matz pitching for the Mets, A.J. Ellis started in Game 4 of the National League division series.
Utley sat out Game 3 on Monday night in New York but could play in Game 4 on Tuesday night. Enrique Hernandez and Justin Ruggiano also start in the outfield with regulars Andre Ethier (pictured above) and Carl Crawford, both lefty batters, taking a seat on the bench. According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Dodgers are favored on the road in this game, as Los Angeles is getting odds of -150 to win, while the Mets are getting a money line of +140 to prevail. Abbott’s office-run Twitter account patted the Astros on the back Monday while Houston was up four runs and six outs away from finishing Kansas City, but then the Royals staged a comeback and forced Game 5.
There was no champagne celebration at Citi Field on Tuesday. Clayton Kershaw will take the mound on short rest. Winning when he couldn’t afford to lose, that was the problem. The decisive Game 5 will be played Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, where Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke will oppose Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom.
The victor of Game 5 will move on to face the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. He added, “Definitely glad to be going home”. “They like us a little better there”.
The Mets had their chances late. With one out on the board in the bottom of the seventh, Utley slid to break up the throw and keep the inning alive. Three-time Cy Young Award victor Clayton Kershaw started for them Tuesday night opposite the rookie Matz. Again, no disrespect, because he’s a good pitcher, but that other guy is – I’ve been around him way too much. “I mean, I don’t know”. Oh, and we nearly forgot to mention: Before the game even began, the Mets introduced Tejada, who took the field with the help of a cane.
“Everything that you’re supposed to be, he is”, Mattingly said. Kershaw has lost his last five postseason starts and is just 1-6 with a 4.91 ERA in nine career postseason starts (4.99 in 12 outings).
So, yes, on this occasion he rode a firm and precise fastball on three days’ rest, and struck out three New York Mets with his slider and four more with a curveball that tended to come and go on him, and eight all told.
But this time, Kershaw was just as dominant as he normally is during the regular season.
“There’s no curse or anything”, he said.
Utley was penalized Sunday by Joe Torre, MLB’s chief baseball officer, who said Utley’s takeout was an “illegal slide”. Cespedes had three hits in the game. The Mets came out on fire, scoring 10 runs over the first four innings of the game. He ended up with seven strikeouts.
Kershaw pitched well in the playoffs on three days’ rest the past two years, going 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA in two starts.
Clayton Kershaw ran into Mets Manager Terry Collins on the field before Game 3.
By the fifth inning Monday night his name had become a party tune, with the crowd chirping gleefully, “We want Utley!” and “Where is Utley?” It turns out the Mets had simply wanted to reserve the possibility of using him for an inning or two of relief. Still, he looked sharp early and snapped off several effective curveballs.
Kershaw, justifiably showering praise on deGrom, described the series as “probably dead even”. “When he makes a mistake, we better put a good swing on it because you’re not going to get a lot of them”.
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Matz grew up a Mets fan on Long Island, about 50 miles from Citi Field, and his family attended the game.
