Dirty Play Turns Mets Series Around

After receiving flak for departing a Subway Series game on September 20 after tossing five scoreless innings, Harvey went to manager Terry Collins to relax his innings restrictions.

The Mets scored again in the third with a two-run homer by Travis d’Arnaud; then in the fourth with a single by Daniel Murphy that scored Juan Lagares and then the second deck homerun by Yoenis Cespedes that scored David Wright, who was intentionally walked, and Murphy.

The reigning NL MVP and three-time Cy Young Award victor snapped a five-start losing streak in the playoffs – the longest in Dodgers history. Kershaw was pitching brilliantly, throwing a shutout through six innings.

The Mets had pounded the Dodgers 13-7 in Game 3 to put themselves on the brink of clinching the series, but that will be the only game started by someone other than Kershaw or Greinke.

Kershaw settled down after a laborious 18-pitch first inning in which he went to a three-ball count on the first three batters.

“It comes down to, when you have runners on, can you capitalize with them on and it’s a matter of if he makes any mistakes and gives you pitches to hit”, he said.

New York Mets shortstop Matt Reynolds, left, and shortstop Wilmer Flores, right, talk to a coach before Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Monday, October 12, 2015, in New York. “I mean, we’ll have a whole host of guys in the bullpen behind him”.

With the runs he needed, Harvey settled down, and by the time he left the game after five innings of work, he had thrown 60 of his 97 pitches for strikes while whiffing seven.

Greinke has pitched at least six innings in all 33 of his starts with a 1.66 ERA that led the majors.

Waving their orange towels in the stands, Mets fans didn’t seem fazed by Kershaw’s arrival.

And all hands better be on deck to give Clayton Kershaw the run support any pitcher would need in a win-or-stay-home kind of environment.

Bottom Line: It’s time for Kershaw to get creative. Matz surrendered just two hits and walked two, striking out eight.

Yet the crowd of 44,000 rocked with chants of “Utley Sucks” and “We Want Utley” as New York’s lead grew in the first postseason game played at Citi Field, which replaced Shea Stadium as the Mets’ home in 2009. That compelled Mattingly to bring in closer Kenley Jansen to get out of the eighth and pitch a likely four-out save. “I don’t think he ever shied away from the fact he wanted to pitch in the postseason”.

Fittingly, the Dodgers’ season could either be prolonged or end on back-to-back appearances by Kershaw and Greinke, whose arms propelled them to a third consecutive NL West title and a franchise-record third straight playoff appearance. I’ve seen it. I’ve rated the speed. “This is what you think about and dream about as a kid to get a chance to be a part of”.

His last attempt at pitching on short rest was in last year’s NLDS against the Cardinals, also in Game 4.

Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis added, “We know we’ve got a huge mountain still to climb with an incredible starting pitcher coming against us in Game 5”.