The parallel universe of David Price and Clayton Kershaw

The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the New York Mets tonight in Game 1 of their NLDS series.

“I definitely remember”, he said, “but it’s a new team, new season and, hopefully, for me a new outcome”.

“But other than that, I don’t really know”.

DeGrom threw five-hit ball with a walk (intentional) in seven innings. In the playoffs, however, he has a dismal 1-5 record with a 5.12 ERA. I appreciated having him on this team as much as any player I’ve had. “We should have done better the last couple years”, he said.

That left Kershaw on the wrong end of a 1-0 pitchers’ duel when he took the mound for the seventh inning – often his personal torture chamber in the playoffs.

While the two never pitched against each other this year, deGrom faced the Dodgers once this season, getting no decision despite giving up no runs on just two hits back on July 26.

“Each game is a little bit different”, he said. “That’s about as sweet as I thought it was going to be”.

Runs will likely again be at a premium when the Dodgers try to even the series Saturday night in Game 2. He led the majors with a 66.3 percent groundball rate this season. Either one may deservedly win the Cy Young award this season, and no pair of pitchers in baseball is better. He was drafted on the ninth round by the Mets in 2010 and missed his first minor-league season the next year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. But Jacob deGrom showed he was not a fluke, Matt Harvey did better than expected in his first season back from Tommy John surgery and Noah Syndergaard fanned 166 in 150 innings.

Records: Mets 90-72 (1st NL East), Dodgers 92-70 (1st NL West).

“I think that’s how people in the clubhouse feel”. Friday night’s NLDS was the Mets’ first playoff game in nine years. But Kershaw’s hasn’t been as dominant over 11 career postseason appearances, which include eight starts. “We worked deep counts but he made the pitches when he needed to”. If they get trumped, expect four months of unrest, at least. Flores hit a game-winning homer against Washington, two nights after tearing up on the field when he thought he’d been traded.

The Dodgers got a run in the bottom of the eighth thanks to an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez that scored Howie Kendrick.

Austin Hedges, who came in hitless in his last 10 at-bats, homered in the fifth for the Padres.

“We lost the game and that’s kind of how you’re measured at this time of year”, catcher A.J. Ellis said.

“Just electric stuff”, he said of the Mets’ ace. “I’m not surprised he’s as good as he is”. “He’s got great composure, great poise out there”.

Kershaw almost helped himself in the fourth when the Dodgers trailed by one. “Clayton Kershaw is the first pitcher to reach the 300-strikeout milestone since Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson in 2002″. He struck out the side in the first, with all three batters swinging through 98 miles per hour heat. His latest number in a playoff atmosphere have seen his Dodger lose all four, and in sour fashion, with two of those coming in elimination games for the Boys in Blue.