Get your game faces on! The New York Mets and Chicago Cubs will face each other for the first time ever in the postseason when both teams take the field tonight at Citi Field.
Right-hander Matt Harvey starts Game 1 in the National League Championship Series for the Mets, and he opposes left-hander Jon Lester for the Cubs on Saturday at 8:07 PM.
Harvey, who will start Game 5 as well, says the normal schedule will help him perform better than he did in the NLDS.
The Mets have advanced to the National League Championship Series for the eighth time in franchise history and for the first time since 2006. They are 4-3 in the NLCS.
1986 World Champion and Mets Hall of Famer Keith Hernandez will throw out tonight’s ceremonial first pitch. Hernandez had three RBI in the NLCS vs. Houston and four RBI in the World Series vs. Boston.
Mets Starting Lineup
- Curtis Granderson – RF
- David Wright – 3B
- Daniel Murphy – 2B
- Yoenis Cespedes – LF
- Travis d’Arnaud – C
- Michael Cuddyer – 1B
- Wilmer Flores – SS
- Juan Lagares – CF
- Matt Harvey – RHP
Next Up: Cubs!
The Mets beat the Dodgers in Game 5 on Thursday night thanks to an amazing Daniel Murphy (although you already know this story). The Cubs dropped the first game of their NLDS against the Cardinals and then one the next three to earn a trip to Queens. In the regular season, the Cubs crushed the Mets picking up 7 wins in as many games, but the Mets were a very different team back then.
Matt Harvey is 13-8 over 29 starts and 189.1 innings with a 2.71 ERA. In his first playoff game he allowed 3 runs, 2 earned over 5.0 innings and 7 hits while striking out 7. He labored through his 5 innings but he was able to get huge outs multiple times through the game. He pitched against the Cubs once this year and shut them out over 7.0 innings while striking out 9. The Cubs have the following numbers against Harvey:
- Coghlan 3-8, 2B
- Fowler 1-9
- Montero 3-5, 2B
- Castro 2-6
- Rizzo 1-4, 2B
- Jackson 1-4
- Bryant 1-3
- Soler 0-3
Jon Lester is 11-12 over 32 starts and 205.0 innings with a 3.34 ERA. In his one start in the postseason eh allowed 3 ER over 7.1 innings while striking out 9 batters. He faced the Mets twice this year picking up 1 win and allowing only 3 ER over 13.0 innings and 10 hits while striking out 13. The Mets have the following numbers against Lester:
- Granderson 12-44, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR
- Cuddyer 5-19, 2 2B
- K Johnson 1-15
- Cespedes 2-13
- Duda 2-6, HR
- Flores 1-5, HR
- Lagares 1-4, 2B
Let’s Go Mets!
