The Mets defeated the Dodgers by a score of 13-7 Monday night at Citi Field to take a 2-1 lead in the NLDS.
Pitching:
Matt Harvey had a clean first inning, however ran into some trouble in the 2nd. Justin Turner led off the inning with a base hit to center field, followed by two more singles by Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford.
Then, with the bases loaded and nobody out, Yasmani Grandal singled past a diving Duda to score two runs. However, a throwing error by Curtis Granderson allowed a third run to score. He tried to throw out Carl Crawford advancing to third. A good throw would have gotten him, but the ball was far off target and strayed from David Wright at third base. He retired the next three batters in order, the final out recorded on a great leaping catch by Wright. 3-0 Dodgers at this point.
He pitched exceptionally for the next few innings before he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 5th inning. His final line was 5 Innings, 7 Hits, 3 Runs (2 earned), 2 Walks, and 7 Strikeouts.
Bartolo Colon then came in to pitch the 6th inning, and struck out the side. With two outs, the Dodgers sent Yasiel Puig to pinch hit for the pitcher. Throughout the at bat, the Citi Field fans were chanting, “We want Utley!” He also pitched the 7th, and gave up an opposite field solo home run to Adrian Gonzalez.
Addison Reed then pitched a perfect 8th inning, striking out one. Erik Goeddel was handed the ball for the 9th inning, and fairly immediately served up base hits to Kike Hernandez and Corey Seager. Then, after a long at bat, Howie Kendrick homered to left field, slimming the Mets’ lead to 13-7. He then served up a base hit to Jimmy Rollins, and was removed from the day.
With the day off before tonight’s game, TC brought in Jeurys Familia with a runner on first base and nobody out, still up by 6 runs. He then did what he does, striking out Adrian Gonzalez on three pitches. He induced a foul pop up to Justin Ruggiano for the second out, then got Andre Ethier to nub one back to the mound for the final out.
Offense:
After the Dodgers put up a 3-spot in the top of the 2nd inning, the Mets got angry and retaliated in the bottom half. Yoenis Cespedes led off the inning with an infield hit, with Jimmy Rollins having taken too long to get the throw off. Lucas Duda followed that up with a base hit to right field to put runners on first and second and nobody out. Travis d’Arnaud then lined a base hit to score Cespedes. 3-1 Dodgers.
Wilmer Flores then followed it up with a perfectly placed base hit to load the bases, still nobody out. Juan Lagares then grounded into a fielders choice for the first out of the inning, with Adrian Gonzalez throwing home for the force out. Harvey then struck out, bringing Curtis Granderson to the plate, bases loaded, two outs.
He CRUSHED a double off the 380 sign in right center to clear the bases, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead!! David Wright then grounded out sharply to shortstop, but the damage had been done.
The Mets struck again in the 3rd inning. With Yoenis Cespedes on first base (who reached on a base hit), Travis d’Arnaud smashed a home run over the left field wall to give the Mets a 6-3 lead.
The 4th inning started off with a bang as well, with Juan Lagares greeting Dodgers’ lefty reliever Alex Wood with an opposite field double to the warning track. After Matt Harvey failed to get a bunt down and Curtis Granderson grounded out, the Dodgers elected to walk David Wright intentionally and pitch to Daniel Murphy.
Bad move.
Murph lined a base hit to left field, scoring Lagares and giving the Mets a 7-3 lead. Cespedes then came to bat with runners on first and second with two outs, and subsequently demolished a baseball into the second deck. The ball left his bat at almost 111 mph, and had a projected distance of 431 feet. To quote an announcer commenting on the volume of the Citi Field crowd, “I would say something, but you probably wouldn’t hear it anyways.” 10-3 Mets!
The Mets threatened again in the 7th inning, when a single and two walks had the bases loaded and nobody out. JP Howell came in to face pinch-hitter Michael Conforto, who delivered against the lefty with a sac fly that moved all the runners up a base, giving the Mets an 11-4 lead.
Curtis Granderson then smacked a double off the left field wall, scoring two more runs, giving the Mets a 13-4 lead.
Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud each tallied 3 hits, as Curtis Granderson notched two hits and drove in 5 runs.
Notes:
I disagree with Terry’s decision to bring in Jeurys Familia up by 6 runs. Tyler Clippard has been struggling lately, and it would have been a good opportunity to give him some low-leverage work.
5 of Justin Turner‘s 6 hits this series have come with two strikes, so Mets pitchers should probably rethink how to approach him in that situation.
The Mets will be facing Clayton Kershaw tomorrow night, who is pitching on 3 days rest. If needed, Zack Greinke will be handed the ball for game 5 on normal rest. Jacob deGrom would start game 5 for the Mets.
On Deck:
The Mets will send Steven Matz (4-0, 2.27 ERA) to start Game 4 against the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.13 ERA) Tuesday night at Citi Field. Game time is 8:00 pm.
