Murphy, Mets Beat Sleeping Dodgers 3-2 to Reach NLCS

DeGrom (2-0), the 2014 NL rookie of the year with the long, shaggy hair, struck out seven and walked three to earn his second road win of the series.

The Mets could extend a $15.8-million, one-year qualifying offer – but no free agent has ever accepted a qualifying offer and there’s not much reason to think Murphy would be the first.

This is an obvious call. He had a 3-for-4 night in Game 5, but that one out was key, striking out against Noah Syndergaard in the seventh inning. For all the fanfare about the midseason acquisitions of Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson and the returns of David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud, it was the guy whose been there just about all season who was the difference.

Murphy homered in the sixth for a 3-2 lead.

The Dodgers offense was able to erase their 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the first inning as Justin Turner and Andre Ethier each delivered an RBI single to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. He stood on first with Lucas Duda at the plate.

Instead, he’s more concerned about pitching better than he did in his first playoff game, when he surrendered three runs in five innings in a comeback Mets win. They’re what Cubs ace Jake Arrieta put up in what turned out to be the greatest second half any pitcher has enjoyed in Major League Baseball history. His first start was a pure gem. He was the losing pitcher in his only start against the Cardinals, giving up three runs in 7 1/3 innings.

“We have a tough game and something doesn’t go right, we bounce back”, said Mets manager Terry Collins. According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Cubs are favored to win this series, as they are getting odds of -160 to win, while the Mets are getting a money line of +140 to prevail. Players said they won’t have an advantage over the Mets, who flew cross-country early Friday morning after eliminating the Dodgers on Thursday. The series could come down to how New York’s young starters perform against Chicago’s young bats. His numbers read 16 up, 16 down. TiqIQ data indicates that the average price on the secondary market for Games 3, 4, and (if necessary) 5 of the NLCS is a whopping $1,358. Beyond the perfection, Familia was incredibly efficient.

The Blue Jays are hoping for good news on slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who exited Game 1 in the eighth inning to get X-rays on the middle finger of his left hand. The core of both clubs are under 26 years old and it looks to probably go the full seven games in this best of seven series.