Mets eliminate Dodgers, will face Cubs in NLCS
LOS ANGELES — Two innings after stealing a run with a heads-up play, second baseman Daniel Murphy hit the go-ahead home run, and the New York Mets edged the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 to win the decisive fifth game of the National League Division Series on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
Murphy’s sixth-inning home run to right, off Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke, was his third of the series. It boosted the Mets into the National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series is Saturday at Citi Field in New York.
Mets starter Jacob deGrom (2-0) struggled early on but regrouped and finished strong. DeGrom allowed two runs, serving scoring in the first inning, on six hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in six innings.
Noah Syndergaard relieved deGrom and worked a scoreless seventh before closer Jeurys Familia came on in the eighth for the six-out save. Familia retired all six batters he faced.
Greinke (1-1), who might have pitched his last game for the Dodgers since he can opt out of his contract, gave up three runs on six hits with nine strikeouts and no walks in 6 2/3 innings.
The Mets jumped in front 1-0 in the first. With one out, Murphy’s double scored right fielder Curtis Granderson, who led off with an infield hit.
Four consecutive singles in the bottom of the inning allowed the Dodgers to rally. The last two of the four by third baseman Justin Turner and right fielder Andre Ethier brought home shortstop Corey Seager and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, respectively, for a 2-1 Los Angeles lead.
In the fourth, Murphy opened with a single and advanced to second on a walk to first baseman Lucas Duda. Murphy continued running past second and stole third on the walk, as Turner left his position at third prematurely with no one covering as he headed to the right side of the diamond for a shift on the next batter, catcher Travis d’Arnaud.
D’Arnaud hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Murphy and knotting the score at 2.
Turner, a former Met, doubled in the third and fifth innings to give him a franchise-record six for the series, breaking Hanley Ramirez’s mark of four set in the 2013 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.
NOTES: Mets OF Curtis Granderson led all players in the series with a .529 on-base percentage entering Game 5. Granderson and Dodgers 1B Adrian Gonzalez were tied for the most RBIs (five). Gonzalez drove in at least a run in each of the first four contests, while Granderson drove in all of his in Game 3. … The two clubs combined for 89 strikeouts in the previous four games, tying the NLDS record, set in 2010 by the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants. … Kirk Gibson belted his dramatic, pinch-hit, walk-off home run for the Dodgers in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland A’s on this date 27 years ago. Los Angeles went on to win the series 4-1, the last time they captured the championship.
