The New York Mets advanced to the NLCS with a tight one-run win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLDS.
After an early rough patch from Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard shined in a relief role before Mets closer Jeurys Familia came for two innings to shut down Los Angeles late in the game.
Here are our five takeaways from the series:
Daniel Murphy heroic for Mets: Murphy chose a good time to have one of the best offensive stretches of his career. The soon-to-be free agent not only homered off Clayton Kershaw twice in the series, but he stepped up even bigger in Game 5, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a heady stolen base when no one was covering third base on a Lucas Duda walk and two RBI, including the series-winning home run off Zack Greinke. To add some context, his teammates went a combined 4-for-29 on Thursday evening.
Murphy, who hit .333 with three home runs and five RBI in the series became the only player other than Kole Calhoun of the Los Angeles Angels to homer off both Greinke and Kershaw in 2015 and the second player in Mets franchise history to deliver a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning or later of a winner-take-all playoff game (the other being Ray Knight in 1986). Not bad, huh?
deGrom overcomes rough Game 5 start: Mets ace Jacob deGrom was lights out in Game 1, tossing seven straight scoreless innings to outduel Kershaw, but he showed some impressive mental toughness after his Game 5 start got a sluggish start.
The right-hander allowed four straight one-out singles to let the Dodgers grab an early 2-1 lead. He admitted after the game that he thought manager Terry Collins would pull him when he came out for a mound visit in the third inning, but even without his best stuff (which he also admitted), he was able to hold the Dodgers to 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position after his tough first inning.
“I think that’s probably the hardest I’ve had to work,” deGrom told reporters following Game 5. “I knew from inning one it was going to be a battle. I knew then I didn’t have my best stuff. And that’s a good lineup over there. It’s not fun when you don’t have your best stuff against them.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, deGrom became the fourth starter in major league history to defeat four previous Cy Young winners in the same post-season series, the others being Kevin Brown, Sterling Hitchcock, and Randy Johnson.
Syndergaard plays key role: The Mets rookie pitched quite well in Game 2, striking out nine over 6.1 innings, but his most important contribution came in Game 5 when he pitched a scoreless inning in relief to preserve the Mets’ one run lead.
He retired Howie Kendrick on a comebacker, struck out Corey Seager, walked Adrian Gonzalez, and then struck out former Met Justin Turner with a nasty breaking ball in his first relief appearance since he was with the Toronto Blue Jays in class-A.
“[Pitching coach Dan Warthen] and I talked before the game about Syndergaard, and there was a point in the game where one of the things Dan said to me, ‘Look, the middle of their lineup, we need to have somebody with power to get through that part,’ ” Collins told reporters. “And I said, ‘Do you think the kid can handle it?’ He said, ‘By all means.’ ”
Syndergaard’s fastball repeatedly touched the 100 mph-mark on Thursday and while he’ll still start in the NLCS, he could be a dangerous weapon out of the bullpen as well.
Dodgers’ flaws pop up: With the highest payroll in baseball — by a large gap — the Dodgers presumably expected to at least win one playoff round, but some of their roster holes showed up in this series, especially in Game 5. The Dodgers went just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position while Kike Hernandez, Yasmani Grandal, and Corey Seager stranded a combined 10 runners on base, speaking to their lack of consistent offence throughout 2015.
It wasn’t just the offence that hurt Los Angeles, as their rotation depth played a factor. Third starter, lefty Brett Anderson, got lit up in Game 3 and some of the Dodgers’ other pitching moves, including acquiring players such as Brandon McCarthy, Alex Wood, and Mat Latos didn’t pay off this season. Despite boasting some quality young talent to build around, the Dodgers must improve their depth heading into 2016.
Will Don Mattingly return? While it’s fair to blame the front office for some of the Dodgers’ issues, another early playoff exit gives them an excuse to move on from manager Don Mattingly.
The Dodgers reshaped their front office last year, bringing in club president Andrew Friedman from Tampa Bay and general manager Farhan Zaidi from Oakland. Neither Friedman or Zaidi hired Mattingly, more of an old-school baseball mind that doesn’t necessarily match their way of thinking, and it would not surprise anyone if the front office wanted to a hire a manager of their own.
Mattingly has reportedly been on the hot seat for quite some time, and another Dodgers disappointment could be his last straw with the club.
