Pitching was expected to be a big factor in the New York Mets advancing in the postseason. As expected, those young arms are why the Mets have a 2-0 lead in the NLCS after beating the Chicago Cubs 4-1 on Sunday night.
Noah Syndergaard racked up nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings, allowing one run and three hits. And the Mets bullpen provided a good bridge to closer Jeurys Familia, with Jonathon Niese, Addison Reed and Tyler Clippard combining to pitch 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball, only giving up one hit. Familia allowed an infield single to Anthony Rizzo in the ninth, but closed out the game, putting the Cubs in an 0-2 hole as the series moves to Wrigley Field for Game 3 on Tuesday.
The Cubs had their best guy on the mound with Jake Arrieta getting the start, which presumably gave them their best chance to win. But the 22-game winner had difficulty locating his pitches early on and the Mets capitalized, leading off the bottom of the first with three consecutive hits. Daniel Murphy struck the big blow, golfing a low Arrieta pitch over the right field wall for yet another home run. His two-run shot following a David Wright RBI double gave the Mets a 3-0 lead.
Murphy has gone deep in four straight postseason games, homering off Clayton Kershaw (twice), Zack Greinke, Jon Lester and Arrieta. During a postseason that is sure to result in a big free agency payday, Murphy is batting .320 with an .840 slugging percentage, four home runs and six RBI.
Granderson was also a standout for the Mets with both his bat and glove. He scored the Mets’ first run after a leadoff single, coming around to score on Wright’s double. In the second inning, he kept the Cubs off the board by snagging Chris Coghlan’s deep drive to right field before it could go over the fence. Granderson also stole second and third base in the third inning, allowing him to score another run on a Murphy single, giving the Mets a 4-1 lead.
As impressive as Murphy’s postseason has been because of his home runs, Granderson has compiled a triple-slash average of .381/.440/.476 at the top of the order, providing a kick-start to the Mets’ offense. And his defense in right field has also been a significant boost for the pitching staff, as it was throughout the regular season.
Arrieta lasted five innings, giving up four runs on four hits. He struck out eight batters, while walking two. Since shutting out the Pirates in the NL Wild Card Playoff Game, Arrietta has allowed four runs in each of his subsequent postseason starts. After throwing a career-high 229 innings during the regular season and making three postseason starts, the Cubs’ ace looks as if he might be wearing down under the workload.
Though the Cubs go to Wrigley Field for the next two games of this series, losing both games at Citi Field with their best pitchers on the mound puts them in a bad position. The third starter and fourth starters in the Chicago rotation were question marks going into the postseason, but either Kyle Hendricks or Jason Hammel will have to pitch well for the Cubs to stay alive in this series.
Either that or the Cubs’ lineup will have to begin flexing its muscles. Dexter Fowler and Kris Bryant each had two hits on Sunday, with Bryant driving in the Cubs’ only run. But Kyle Schwarber, who hit a home run in Game 1, went 0-for-4 on Sunday, while Rizzo, Starlin Castro and Javier Baez batted a combined 1-for-10. Playing in Wrigley might help stimulate the offense, but Jacob deGrom — who’s allowed two runs with 20 strikeouts in 13 postseason innings — presents a formidable obstacle in Game 3.
The NLCS resumes on Tuesday with Game 3 at Wrigley Field, with first pitch scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET. TBS has the telecast.
