NLDS Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Mets
- Updated: October 9, 2015
Image via Twitter
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets kick off their National League Division Series on Friday night, and the best-of-five series will determine who moves on to the National League Championship Series and, perhaps, to the World Series.
Both the Dodgers and Mets won their respective divisions, of course; now, each one must attempt to survive and advance opposite the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs in the opposing division series also taking place this week.
So, as the series gets underway, let’s take on a Dodgers-centric view of the NLCS with New York, including probable pitchers, a schedule, game notes, and more.
GAME ONE — Friday, October 9
Dodger Stadium — 6:30 pm PT
Clayton Kershaw vs Jacob deGrom
GAME TWO — Saturday, October 10
Dodger Stadium — 6:00 pm PT
Zack Greinke vs Noah Syndergaard
GAME THREE — Monday, October 12
Citi Field — 5:00 pm PT
Brett Anderson vs Matt Harvey
GAME FOUR* — Tuesday, October 13
Citi Field — 5:00 pm PT
TBD vs Steven Matz
GAME FIVE* — Thursday, October 15
Dodger Stadium — 5:00 pm PT
TBD vs TBD
*Games four and five will only be played if necessary in this best-of-five NLDS series.
Dodgers Notes
Kershaw, Greinke need to be Kershaw, Greinke
Sounds obvious, right? Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are the best 1-2 punch in baseball — and they certainly compose the best 1-2 punch in this playoff series (with absolutely no disrespect to the Mets, who have some incredible young arms in their rotation).
But Kershaw’s playoff record has been a concern in his career; in 11 postseason games (eight starts), Kershaw is 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA and — for him — and uncharacteristically high 1.235 WHIP across 51 innings. In his last four playoff starts, combined between 2013 and 2014 (and, granted, all against St. Louis), he’s 0-4 with 18 earned runs allowed in just 22.2 innings.
The Dodgers obviously need him — and Greinke, whose playoff record is better than Kershaw’s, but also not nearly as dominant as some of his recent regular seasons — to step up in games one and two and make things easy for the Dodgers as they head to New York for game three and (if necessary) game four. Which reminds me…
What about that #3 starter?
So it appears it’s going to be Brett Anderson, eh? That’s probably the right call; Anderson made it through the entire year healthy enough, and despite tripping up on some bad starts at the beginning of September, he had a pretty damn solid season behind the big two in the Dodgers’ rotation.
But will it be enough to help propel the Dodgers, or will the Mets be able to sneak a victory out of a weak spot in the Dodgers’ rotation? For what it’s worth, with over 120 Major League starts under his belt, Anderson has never faced the Mets.
Do you trust the bullpen?
No, really… do you? The Dodgers are going to need a lot — probably at the front and back ends of the series, on short rest — from Greinke and Kershaw to cover up from the (real or perceived) shortcomings of the bullpen.
Success versus the Mets
The Dodgers are just 3-4 against the Mets this year, and Los Angeles has allowed 33 runs in seven games to the Mets, despite New York’s weak offense. (The Dodgers have only scored 19 runs in those seven games, themselves.)
Obviously, the biggest games for LA are games one and two (isn’t that true of every team in every playoff series, though?). If Los Angeles heads to the Big Apple with a 1-1 series tie, they might be in trouble facing at least one game, and maybe two, without Greinke and Kershaw.
Infield and outfield notes
Yasiel Puig appears to be on the NLDS roster. So does Justin Ruggiano. Both are important considering the Dodgers’ need for right-handed hitting outfielders with their first three (Carl Crawford, Joc Pederson, and Andre Ethier) all of course hitting from the left side of the plate.
In the infield, Corey Seager ought to start at shortstop, and Howie Kendrick will of course maintain his starting role at second base. As much as Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley have struggled at the plate this year, it will be good to have them — in a bench role — for the playoff push.
PREDICTION
Dodgers in four.
Kershaw gets the playoff monkey off his back and Greinke does what Greinke does. The bullpen holds… enough… and Los Angeles advances to the NLCS where they (presumptively) play the St. Louis Cardinals and, well… we’ll discuss that if and when we get there.
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Dodgers and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time!
Related Posts
About Bobby DeMuro
