The Dodgers aren’t the same team that got chased out of the NL Division Series by St. Louis a year ago, either. As is customary in the playoffs, truly anything can happen in a division series. They are in the playoffs for the first time in nine years; the Dodgers are making their third straight appearance for the first time in franchise history.
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Lefty reliever Sean Gilmartin, who traveled with the Mets to Los Angeles as a contingency for Matz, will remain with the team in case of an injury. Both teams are ranked about even in the fielding department.
The NL postseason started with fireworks in the wild card game between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Then on the first night of a series with two teams loaded with great pitching, deGrom and Kershaw do it for the first time.
Kershaw led the majors with 301 strikeouts during the regular season and allowed more than three earned runs in a start only once after May 21.
The Mets, by contrast, hobbled to the finish line, losing five of their final six regular season contests.
In a series that figures to be dominated by pitching, the Mets turn to their best pitcher to duel Kershaw in Game 1 tonight at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers have an elite closer in Kenley Jansen but getting to him may prove to be a bit tricky. He was overshadowed by a few of the other exceptional pitchers in the NL this year, but he finished with a 2.54 ERA, 2.70 FIP and 0.98 WHIP; all unbelievable figures. Their production boomed in the second half, but the boost was widespread rather than top-heavy. It would seem that he’s too great a pitcher not to regain his form, but David Price was expected to reverse his latest postseason struggles yesterday against Texas and instead fell to 0-6 in the postseason.
Home cooking: Home field advantage could play an important role in this series. When Cespedes is quiet, the Mets’ rejuvenated offense is not so rejuvenated.
“But other than that, I don’t really know”.
Outfielders; Andre Ethier, Enrique Hernandez, Carl Crawford, Joc Pederson, Justin Ruggiano and Yasiel Puig. 175 with five homers and a. 595 OPS, the Dodgers’ lineup features exactly two truly intimidating hitters: Adrian Gonzalez (.275, 28 homers, 90 RBIs) and rookie shortstop Corey Seager, who has 27 big-league games under his belt.
After returning from a torn left knee ligament and going 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA in four September starts, Marcus Stroman starts for Toronto against Texas in Game 2 and tries to get the Blue Jays even in the series. But if the Mets can manage a split in L.A. and Harvey shows in Game 3 that he’s worth the aggravation, the Mets can keep the magic going.
deGrom is also a big strikeout guy, which is why the total for this game is hovering below six runs combined. Wright is healthy for the Mets now and must play a big role if the Mets hope to beat the Dodgers in the NLDS. In last season’s disastrous NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals, Kershaw bombed in two starts as the Cardinals plastered him for 11 runs in just 12 2/3 innings.
Although it’s nearly a foregone conclusion in the MLB that Kershaw is the best pitcher in the league, many Dodgers fans remain pessimistic.
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He hasn’t faced the Dodgers much in his career, but has kept them to an average of. Pre-All-Star Break, just seven Mets hitters topped 15 runs created.
