Kershaw, Dodgers beat Mets 3-1 to force Game 5

Kershaw would have only one day between appearances.

The series is tied at two games apiece.

But first, the Dodgers need to win on Tuesday, and to do that they need to score runs. The victor hosts the wild-card Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series opener Saturday. Let go by the Mets after the 2013 season – they declined to offer him arbitration – he is 7 for 15 (.467) in the series with four doubles and three RBIs.

With Greinke and deGrom meeting, Kershaw says the series is “dead-even”.

“We’re really confident. We’re going home for Game 5 with Zack Greinke on the mound”, utility man Kiké Hernandez said. “If you can get strike outs on heaters like he can, it’s really tough”.

Greinke has pitched at least six innings in all 33 starts with a majors-best 1.66 ERA.

Filling in admirably for Tejada was Wilmer Flores, who stroked a single and a double and scored two runs.

You want a whole five game series?

The New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers square off in a winner-take-all Game Five Thursday night, and fans can watch live online as the game features the type of top-level pitching matchup that true baseball aficionados dream about in the decisive game of a playoff series.

“He’ll paint the corners”. He’ll be back in the outfield, replacing Juan Lagares, who started both games at Citi Field. He threw his fastballs just 37 percent of the time in his Game 2 start, his lowest percentage of the season, while throwing his slider 30 percent of the time, his third-highest rate of the season. “But if he elevates, be aggressive with that and hit the ball hard somewhere and just try to keep him in the middle of the plate”.

On Wednesday, Beltran had a few advice on how the Mets can beat the Dodgers and stud righty Zack Greinke. “This is what you think about and dream about as a kid to get a chance to be a part of”. Mattingly said the issue is whether Grandal can swing without pain; catching would not bother him. Probably give (catcher A.J. Ellis) credit on that. He had one bad inning.

A three-run homer in the ninth by Howie Kendrick narrowed the gap. In Friday’s Game 1, he dazzled in seven shutout innings, matching a postseason franchise record with 13 strikeouts. Before and after that, Greinke was sublime, and he finished the night with five hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts in seven innings on 110 pitches. This season, he’s 11-1 with a 1.52 ERA at home and hasn’t allowed more than two runs at Dodger Stadium since April.

“Honestly, I never thought he’d be this good of a hitter”. Johnson as 0-3 with one save and a 10.13 ERA in 23 games for Los Angeles after being acquired from Atlanta on July 30…. “We like him”, Mets manager Terry Collins said. “It’s the playoffs. So it doesn’t really – obviously your routines change a little bit, different things like that, but as far as being prepared, being ready for it, I’ll be fine come tomorrow”. Zack Grienke, who gave up a pair of runs in his game two win will take the ball for the Dodgers.

“Anything can happen, ” Mattingly said. But you know, he’s had regular rest, so that’s a good sign. Something can go wrong early.

If you have any idea what’s going to happen in Game 5, you’re a damned liar.