Mets Fans Ready to Stand by Team for Game 5

The prize for Thursday’s victor is the NLCS against the Cubs, with home-field advantage, beginning Saturday.

“They’ve given us two guys that stop streaks, save your bullpen, are just day-in, day-out consistent guys”. “You’re looking at Noah’s going to be down there tomorrow, Matt, if we need him, they’ll all be there”. He’s just very impressive, just very tough to square up. “If you can get strikeouts on heaters like he can, it’s really tough”. His 1.66 ERA over 32 starts was the best in the major leagues.

As it turned out, the Mets didn’t earn an at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the eighth inning, after Kershaw’s masterful seven were mercifully over, but even then, a harmless fly ball by Murphy ended the mini-threat.

A slow grounder to second by center fielder Enrique Hernandez forced Kershaw, but Los Angeles followed with three consecutive hits in a nine-pitch span – a single by second baseman Howie Kendrick, an RBI single by Gonzalez and a two-run double down the third base line by Turner – to give Kershaw more runs than he had in either of his previous two Game 4 starts on short rest.

“He’ll paint the corners. But since the Mets might be listening, yes, he could pitch”. Puig is trying to get his timing at the plate established, so there is a chance that deGrom will throw it right past him.

The confidence they can do to Zack Greinke Thursday night what they couldn’t Tuesday to Clayton Kershaw gains steam by having their own ace Jacob deGrom on the mound, but the real concern is in hoping Greinke will be less “unhittable” (Wright’s description) than Kershaw was Tuesday.

“What’s it like? Not a lot of fun knowing you gotta face those two guys”, Collins said. “They’re both really fast and they both are good hitting pitchers. So my plan is just to pitch as good as possible and hopefully it works out”. Manager Don Mattingly said Grandal was injured late in Game 3 on Monday but that he wouldn’t have started Tuesday anyway because the Mets were throwing LHP Steven Matz. Crawford doesn’t seem to be able to catch anything that’s not hit directly to him, so I’ll take Puig’s 75% hamstring defense over Crawford.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gave his view earlier Monday, pronouncing Utley “guilty as sin”.

“DeGrom is capable of getting a win”, Beltran told the Post. LA scored seven runs last night, but in a 13-7 blowout loss. Zack Greinke allowed two runs in seven innings and fanned eight in his Game 2 win.

He is 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA and three home runs in five career starts with six days’ or more rest. “It’s a good feeling to know your manager wants you out there”. If he can catch one of deGrom’s fastballs, or a mistake pitch, we’ll see a monster Puig blast flying into the Los Angeles night sky. “He’s a huge role model for the younger generation that’s coming up playing this game, and I mean he’s doing stuff that kids do in Wiffle Ball games and backyard baseball”.

“I talked to him on the plane today and he said he’d be ready”, the manager said.

The Dodgers built a $300 million team with only two dependable starting pitchers, but at least they’re both great pitchers.

“It’s probably the biggest game I’ve ever pitched”, he said. I just missed it. Wished I wouldn’t have. The victor of NLDS Game 5 will advance one step closer to that elusive World Series title, while the loser will head home for the offseason and deal with the heartbreak of being so close, but yet so far away.

“Anything can happen”, Mattingly said. But Greinke generally doesn’t go as deep in games as Kershaw.