After a long eight-year drought, the New York Mets will finally be experiencing some postseason action again. They emerged atop of their division this year, winning it by seven games ahead of the resilient Washington Nationals, who tried their best to make it interesting until the end. Now, the Mets will try to continue their impressive run when they travel to California and open up their National League Divisional Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Which team will emerge victorious in Game1? Will the Mets draw the first blood? Or will the Dodgers impose their dominance in front of their home crowd? Read on below for a comprehensive breakdown of this clash. And while you’re at it, check out as well our preview of the Astros vs. Royals and Cubs vs. Cardinals.
[sc:MLBArticles ]New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Preview
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
When: Friday, October 9, 9:45 PM ET
Line: New York Mets (+175) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (-205); Total: 5.5 —View all MLB Lines
Betting on the New York Mets
The New York Mets will be putting its trust on none other than their ace in Jacob deGrom (14-8, 2.54 ERA) for this all-important series opener. deGrom was nothing but spectacular in his final start of the regular season, pitching four scoreless, hitless innings and adding seven strikeouts to his for the 1-0 triumph against the Nats. The Mets have usually been on the winning side whenever deGrom takes the mound, as they’ve won 11 of their last 15 contests with him starting.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Furthermore, the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year looks to be on track for another promising effort this coming Friday, as he’s played with a lot of confidence away from home this season. deGrom owns an 8-4 record with a 3.09 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and a .219 opponents’ batting average across 15 road starts.
It’s also worth noting that he’ll be taking comfort about his most recent turn against the Dodgers on July 26, wherein he scattered just two hits throughout 7 2/3 scoreless innings for the eventual 3-2 victory.
But of course, deGrom can’t beat the Dodgers all by himself. He’ll be expecting the pair of Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda to spark up the offense for the Mets.
Murphy, their best batter (.281), has had a huge share of success on the road this year with an impressive triple-slash line of .310/.351/.480. He’s also gotten the best out of Clayton Kershaw, going 3-for-10 lifetime off the lefty. Duda, meanwhile, holds a team-high of 27 homers and 73 RBIs but is only hitting .100 in the same matchup.
New York 12-3 in deGrom’s last 15 road turns.
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Betting on the Los Angeles Dodgers
As most expected, the Los Angeles Dodgers will counter with their own ace in Clayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.13 ERA) to kick off their playoff campaign. The 27-year-old lefty, who became the first pitcher since 2002 to reach 300 strikeouts in a single season, is looking to finally lead his team all the way to the World Series this time around. But before that could happen, Kershaw will need to overcome several challenges, the first one being a best-of-five series opposite the New York Mets.
The 2014 Cy Young Award winner, made sure to end on a high note in his final two games of the regular season. He registered 20 strikeouts and tossed 12 2/3 scoreless frames to pick up the two-straight victories—versus the Padres and Giants. Also, Kershaw is bound to give the Mets a very tough time at the plate as he’s pitched like a god at Dodger Stadium across 17 starts this year. He boasts an 11-3 record with a 1.67 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, while holding each of his opponents’ to a miserable batting average of .184.
As for the offense, expect the three-time NL West champions to heavily rely on Adrian Gonzalez to provide timely runs. Gonzalez, who leads the team in batting (.275), homers (28), RBIs (90), OBP (.350) and hits (157), has been a major headache to Jacob deGrom throughout his career. He is 3-for-8 with two homers and five RBIs opposite the Mets’ ace.
Los Angeles is 7-3 in their last 10 home games versus New York.
Writer’s Prediction:
The Dodgers (-205) take Game 1 with a thrilling 5-3 victory.
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