Kuzul

Stephen Kiprotich won the gold medal in the men’s marathon at the 2012 London Olympics with a time of two hours, eight minutes and one second. He could have ran the 26.2 miles twice at that pace and still had plenty of time to watch the end of Game 1 of the 2015 World Series.

The Kansas City Royals outlasted the New York Mets in their own version of a marathon with a 5-4 victory in 14 innings Tuesday night. Eric Hosmer won the game with a sacrifice fly, and SportsCenter put the result in historical context:

Hosmer’s winning RBI was a moment of redemption for the first baseman, who committed a crucial error in the eighth inning that gave the Mets the lead. That was the difference until Alex Gordon rescued the Royals with a dramatic tying home run in the ninth off New York closer Jeurys Familia. 

Hosmer had the final at-bat of a back-and-forth contest that featured an inside-the-park homer, technical difficulties on the broadcast that delayed the game and 13 total pitchers. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports commented on the nature of Tuesday’s outcome:

While the overall length of the game and Kansas City’s offensive spark in the 14th inning overshadowed his performance, pitcher Chris Young deserved credit for coming out of the bullpen and dominating in extra innings. ESPN Stats & Info described why:

As for the starting pitchers, Matt Harvey went six innings for the Mets and allowed three earned runs and five hits, while Edison Volquez tossed six innings and gave up three earned runs and six hits.

Kansas City started the bottom of the first in arguably the most dramatic way possible: an inside-the-park home run on Harvey’s first pitch. Alcides Escobar showed off his speed as he flew around the bases, but Yoenis Cespedes could have caught the ball with a better read. Sports Illustrated described the action:

Sports writer Katie Sharp put the play in historical perspective:

The defensive miscue put Mets manager Terry Collins’ decision to not start Juan Lagares in the outfield in the spotlight, although Lagares eventually entered the game off the bench.

The Mets got the run back in the top of the fourth when Travis d’Arnaud drove Daniel Murphy in with an infield single, although New York stranded two runners. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted Murphy’s place in team history after his single started the rally:

The Mets kept the momentum rolling in the fifth when Curtis Granderson drilled a solo home run for a 2-1 lead. It came around the same time the broadcast experienced technical difficulties, and Jon Tayler of Sports Illustrated commented on the two developments:

The Mets pushed the lead to 3-1 in the sixth when Michael Conforto drove Cespedes in with a sacrifice fly to shallow left. Cespedes challenged Gordon’s arm and won, although it was Conforto who etched his name in baseball lore with his RBI, as Ace of MLB Stats noted:

The contact-making Royals battled back in the bottom of the sixth with three hits, a steal and two runs to tie the game at 3-3. Hosmer drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Mike Moustakas notched an RBI single. ESPN Stats & Info pointed out Hosmer made some team history with his contribution:

The Mets did their best Royals small-ball impersonation to take the lead in the eighth. Lagares singled in his first plate appearance and stole second, then scored after Hosmer committed an error on Wilmer Flores’ ground ball—which resembled Bill Buckner’s infamous error against the Mets in the 1986 World Series.

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports referenced that play:

The connection went beyond the fact both errors were made by first basemen playing against the Mets in the World Series. ESPN Stats & Info explained:

Collins turned to Familia for a four-out save, and the closer snuffed out a Kansas City rally in the eighth when he induced a groundout from Moustakas with runners on the corners. However, Familia coughed up the lead when Gordon drilled his game-tying home run with one out in the ninth. Passan noted how unexpected the long ball was given the closer’s success this season:

ESPN Stats & Info stated it was the second straight time the Mets blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the World Series. Jon Morosi of Fox Sports added how long it had been since such a dramatic Fall Classic moment:

The Mets were the first to threaten in extra innings when they put two runners on in the 11th, but David Wright struck out against Ryan Madson. Kansas City nearly won in the bottom half of the frame, but Granderson made a game-saving catch, as Passan noted:

The Royals gave the ball to scheduled Game 4 starter Young in the 12th, and he struck out the side. New York countered with starter-turned-playoff reliever Bartolo Colon. The Royals loaded the bases, but Colon escaped the jam by getting Jarrod Dyson to fly out. Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports was impressed by Colon’s confidence with the game on the line:

The two pitchers forced a 14th inning, and ESPN acknowledged the game’s spot in World Series history:

Colon’s magic ended in that 14th inning. Wright committed an error, Ben Zobrist singled and Lorenzo Cain was intentionally walked to load the bases. From there, all Hosmer had to do was hit a no-out sac fly to end the game. Sharp pointed out it was the first extra-inning walk-off sacrifice fly in a World Series game since Brooks Robinson did it in 1971.

The redemptive moment for the first baseman gave the Royals a critical one-game lead.

What’s Next?

Game 2 is Wednesday in Kansas City. While the Royals have momentum on their side, the Mets have a golden opportunity to earn a split with arguably their best pitcher in Jacob deGrom taking the mound.

Johnny Cueto will toe the rubber for Kansas City. He struggled after joining the Royals a week before the trade deadline, compiling a 4.76 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. However, he flashed his potential in Game 5 of an American League Division Series against the Houston Astros, pitching eight innings and allowing two runs. Cueto did give up eight runs in two-plus innings in his one start in the American League Championship Series.

The Mets will counter with deGrom and his 2.54 ERA and sparkling 0.98 WHIP. He has been even better in three postseason starts, all New York victories, allowing four earned runs and striking out 27 in 20 innings.

Postgame Reaction

The mood was understandably somber on the Mets side following the heartbreaking loss.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com said “It is pin-drop quiet in the Mets’ postgame clubhouse. Silent. Can’t remember a time all year when it’s been quieter.”

When the team did get to talking, pitcher Jon Niese pointed to the missed opportunities when the Mets held the lead as the difference in the game, per DiComo: “We had to put the nail in the coffin when we had it closed.”

Wright summed up the back-and-forth nature of the historic showdown, per Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News: “It was like a roller coaster ride. Both teams were relentless, they were a little more relentless.”

Flores was already looking ahead following the defeat, per Ackert: “We’ll be fine. We have a lot of confidence in here. We’ll be fine.”

Kansas City manager Ned Yost was also looking ahead to future contests in the World Series with regard to his planned Game 4 starter, Young. Yost said Young can still take the mound in Game 4 after throwing 53 pitches since his limit was around 50, per Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City.

Just because the manager had his eye on what’s ahead didn’t mean the players couldn’t enjoy the victory. Hosmer called himself the “happiest guy in the stadium” after Gordon’s home run let him off the hook for his error, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Hosmer went from goat to hero, and the Royals are now three wins away from their first World Series title since 1985.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Mets have taken a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series after Sunday’s 4-1 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs.

The Mets tagged Chicago ace Jake Arrieta for three runs in the bottom of the first inning, getting An RBI double from David Wright and then a two-run home run from Daniel Murphy. That’s Murphy’s second homer of this series and fifth of the postseason, tying a club record.

New York added a fourth run in the third on an infield single by Yeonis Cespedes to score Curtis Granderson, and the Cuts got on the board in the sixth on a two-out double by Kris Bryant.

Noah Syndergaard struck out nine through 5.2 innings for the Mets, while Arrieta went five innings and allowed four runs and four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Game 3 is set for Tuesday night in Chicago. 

Scroll down for our real-time updates, analysis, statistics, pictures, tweets and anything else worth noting from Citi Field in New York.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Chicago Cubs advanced to their first National League Championship Series since 2003 after eliminating the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field.

Behind three more home runs, giving them nine in two days, Chicago cemented the series-clinching Game 4 with a 6-4 victory. In place of the injured Addison Russell, Javier Baez began the festivities with a three-run bomb. With the game tied at 4-4, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber provided the deciding solo shots.

Jason Hammel surrendered two runs before recording an out, but seven relievers collected 13 strikeouts over six innings. After getting shut out by John Lackey in Game 1, the Cubs roughed him up for four runs.

The Cubs have now eliminated both of their National League Central foes, ousting the only two squads who finished the season with superior records. They will now await the winner of the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.

FINAL: Cubs 6, Cardinals 4 

HRs: Stephen Piscotty (2-Run, Top 1st), Javier Baez (3-Run, Bottom 2nd), Anthony Rizzo (Solo, Bottom 6th), Kyle Schwarber (Solo, Bottom 7th)

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Mets offense exploded Monday night in Game 3 of the National League Division Series as it dropped double digits on the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 13-7 win at Citi Field. With the victory, the Mets grab a 2-1 series lead, leaving them one game away from the National League Championship Series.

According to Bleacher Report Insights (h/t B/R’s MLB account), the 13 runs are the most allowed by the Dodgers ever in a playoff game.

The trade for Yoenis Cespedes is regarded by many as a major turning point in the Mets’ season. By acquiring the veteran slugger, New York added the kind of power that had been missing in its lineup before the trade deadline.

Cespedes strengthened that narrative after he hit .287 with 17 home runs, 44 runs batted in and a .604 slugging percentage in his 57 regular-season games with the team.

On Monday, the 29-year-old had his best performance of the series so far, finishing 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and three runs scored. His massive three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth may still be trapped in earth’s orbit:

ESPN Stats & Info supplied some of the impressive details from Cespedes’ blast:

His home run capped off a three-inning stretch for the Mets in which they turned a three-run deficit into a 10-3 lead.

Matt Harvey found himself in trouble after allowing three straight singles to start off the second inning. With the bases loaded, Yasmani Grandal singled to right, which plated Justin Turner and Andre Ethier. Carl Crawford also came home following an errant throw by Curtis Granderson.

Allowing three runs—only two of which were earned—in an inning-plus of work wasn’t an optimal start for the Mets ace. SportsPickle offered this helpful insight:

Harvey settled down, though, sending the next three Dodgers batters down in order to end the inning.

And that brief outburst proved to be Los Angeles’ only real offense of note as Harvey exited after five innings, allowing just the two earned runs on seven hits and striking out seven.

The Mets hitters went to work in the bottom of the second. A Travis d’Arnaud single and a Granderson double gave the home team a 4-3 lead. An inning later, d’Arnaud hammered a two-run home run to get New York ever further out front, which was, needless to say, a positive development for ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin:

The Mets tacked on four more runs in the fourth. Daniel Murphy began the scoring with an RBI single, and Cespedes provided the fireworks one batter later. The fans inside Citi Field really started enjoying themselves once Cespedes crossed the plate for the 10th run, calling out Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley, per ESPN’s Linda Cohn:

Utley appealed his two-game suspension following his hard slide into Ruben Tejada in Game 2, but Dodgers manager Don Mattingly left him out of the lineup for Game 3. Missing out on Monday’s game was a smart decision in retrospect.

BuzzFeed’s Lindsey Adler considers the beef between Utley and the Mets officially over:

The Dodgers will like their chances of extending the series Tuesday since they’ll have their ace on the mound. Clayton Kershaw will face off against Steven Matz.

Of course, starting Kershaw is far from a guarantee in the playoffs. He’s 1-6 in 12 career postseason appearances with a 4.99 ERA. His issues in October continue to be one of the more confounding aspects of baseball today.

SB Nation’s Grant Brisbee attempted to get into the three-time Cy Young winner’s mind ahead of Game 4:

Another loss won’t change the fact that Kershaw is the best pitcher on the planet, but in order to truly cement his legacy in the game, he’ll need to buck his recent playoff trend.

Meanwhile, the Mets know as well as anybody how quickly a promising future can turn sour. The 1986 World Series-winning team looked like a dynasty in the making. But the Mets reached the playoffs just once more in the ensuing 12 seasons.

The 2015 Mets have a number of young players, especially on the pitching staff. They should be built to contend for years, but some stars will get hurt, leave or fail to pan out as expected. New York must do everything it can to capitalize on its title window this postseason.

Postgame Reaction

While Cespedes deserves a lot of credit for the Mets’ Game 3 win, Granderson set the table at the top of the order, going 2-for-5 with two doubles and five runs batted in. He more than atoned for his error in the second inning.

“This guy is the same way everyday,” said Mets manager Terry Collins, per the team’s Twitter account. “He doesn’t look for headlines. He just loves to play.”

As if the prospect of going up 2-1 in the series weren’t enough of a motivating factor for the Mets players, they also wanted to exact a measure of revenge on the Dodgers for Utley’s Game 2 slide on Tejada.

“The greatest retaliation is winning the game,” said Michael Cuddyer, per Rubin.

“I think everybody feels badly for Ruben, but what’s done is done,” added David Wright, per Marc Carig of Newsday. “The only thing we can do now in support of Ruben is going out there and getting back the way that we know how to get back, and that’s winning two games here.”

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Mets fell behind by three runs early but then scored 10 straight to rout the Los Angeles Dodgers, 13-7, in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Monday night.

The Mets now have a 2-1 lead and will be looking to clinch in Game 4 on Tuesday night.

After the Dodgers scored three runs in the top of the second inning on a bases-loaded single by Yasmani Grandal and a throwing error, the Mets scored four times in the bottom of the frame. Four straight hits plated one run, then Curtis Granderson hit a three-run double with two outs to give New York the lead.

Travis d’Arnaud added a two-run home run for the Mets in the third, and David Murphy had a two-out RBI single in the fourth. Yoenis Cespedes then followed with a monster three-run homer to left.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer with two outs in the seventh to end New York’s scoring run, but the Mets countered with three runs in the seventh on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Michael Conforto and a two-run double by Granderson, who finished with five RBI.

Los Angeles’ Howie Kendrick hit a three-run homer in the ninth to cap the scoring.

Scroll down for all of our updates, analysis, statistics, pictures, videos, tweets and everything else worth noting from Citi Field.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Houston Astros have taken a 2-1 lead in the American League Division Series with a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday in Game 3 at Houston.

The Astros fell behind 1-0 but then scored four straight, while Dallas Keuchel won for the 16th time without a loss at Minute Maid Park.

Lorenzo Cain hit a solo home run to give the Royals a 1-0 lead in the fourth, but Houston took a 2-1 lead on Jason Castro’s two-run single in the bottom of the fifth. The Astros added runs in the sixth on a two-out RBI single from Carlos Gomez and in the seventh on a solo homer from Chris Carter.

Kansas City got one back in the ninth off Houston closer Luke Gregerson when Alex Gordon led off the inning with a solo homer, but Gregerson struck out Cain with a man on to end the rally.

Game 4 is set for Monday, time TBD. A win would send the Astros into the American League Championship Series, while a victory for Kansas City sends the series back to Kansas City for a fifth game on Tuesday.

Scroll down for all of our updates, analysis, statistics, pictures, videos and anything else worth noting from Sunday’s Game 3.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

A controversial four-run rally in the seventh inning propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-2 home win over the New York Mets in Game 2 of their National League Division Series on Saturday night, tying the series at one game apiece.

The Mets came into the seventh inning ahead 2-1, courtesy of second-inning solo home runs from Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto off of Cy Young candidate Zack Greinke. Rookie Noah Syndergaard was dealing for the away side for much of the game but couldn’t finish what would turn out to be a wild seventh inning.

With one out, Enrique Hernandez on third, Chase Utley on first and Bartolo Colon in for Syndergaard, Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick knocked a hard grounder up the middle.

Daniel Murphy flipped the ball to Ruben Tejada to seemingly get Utley out at second and perhaps start a double play, but the 36-year-old veteran upended the shortstop with a hard takeout slide. Kendrick reached first safely without a throw, and Hernandez scored from third.

ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin noted it echoed a play from 2010:

With the United States men’s national soccer team playing Mexico a few miles away at the Rose Bowl, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times trotted out a cross-sport analogy:

Former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was not a fan of Utley’s slide, as it didn’t appear that he intended to touch the base:

A challenge from Dodgers manager Don Mattingly showed Tejada never touched second base, bringing Utley back into play. The replay also showed Utley failed to touch the bag before jogging to the dugout, but he was still allowed to stay on the field. The umpires did not grant Tejada the neighborhood play, allowing Mattingly to challenge.

ESPN’s Dan Szymborski felt Utley’s slide was legal within the boundaries of the game but suggested those boundaries haven’t kept up with the evolving sport: 

Tejada left the game on a cart and suffered a fractured right fibula on the play, per Sports Illustrated‘s Ben Reiter. Wilmer Flores replaced him at short.

After the game, Mets manager Terry Collins commented on the play, per the Wall Street Journal‘s Jared Diamond and Los Angeles Times‘ Bill Shaikin:

After striking out three times against Syndergaard, Adrian Gonzalez delivered against reliever Addison Reed, smacking a two-out double to score both Utley and Kendrick. Turner followed that up with a double of his own, earning the Dodgers a 5-2 lead they would not relinquish. Both Gonzalez’ and Turner’s hits came after a Corey Seager flyball out which, had Utley been ruled out on a neighborhood play, would’ve ended the inning.

The Dodgers’ shaky bullpen came through in relief of Greinke. Chris Hatcher struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Kenley Jansen took over to record the three-out save in the ninth. Greinke picked up the victory, allowing five hits and two earned runs and striking out eight.

Syndergaard took the loss, as the first two runs of the seventh were charged to him. He finished with three earned runs and nine strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

After watching Syndergaard’s fastball reach triple digits several times in the first inning, ESPN’s Buster Olney pointed out the Dodgers might be in for another tough night at the plate: 

For some time, it looked like Syndergaard would be able to replicate the performance of Jacob deGrom, who outdueled Clayton Kershaw in Game 1, especially with Greinke spotting the Mets an early two-run lead.

Cespedes’ and Conforto’s solo blasts in the second frame were remarkable, considering the pitcher they victimized, per the Wall Street Journal‘s Jared Diamond: 

Conforto’s solo shot was particularly notable. It came in the 22-year-old’s first postseason at-bat—not bad for a player who started the year in Single-A—and the homer was a low screamer down the right field line that left the park in a blink.

Journalist Anthony De Rosa had a biting quip for the unusual homer:

Greinke settled down after the second inning, scattering two hits and five strikeouts over the next five frames and deftly working the edges of the strike zone. His slider was effective, keeping the Mets hitters off-balance all night. 

The Dodgers got their first run of the game in the fourth inning. Turner led off the inning with a ground-rule double, and he came around to score on Andre Ethier’s double to right field in the next at-bat. 

Los Angeles did a fine job of working the count against Syndergaard despite the rookie throwing plenty of first-pitch strikes. Nevertheless, the Dodgers struggled against his sizzling heater, which stayed right around the 99 mph mark throughout his start. 

Curtis Granderson was a bright spot leading off for the Mets, going 2-for-3 with a walk and matching his line from Game 1. For the Dodgers, Gonzalez has struck out seven times in the series but still came through with RBI in both games. Getting the start for Joc Pederson, Hernandez scored the tying run and reached base three times. Mattingly’s instincts turned out to be correct, per Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller: 

After two games in Chavez Ravine, the series heads to Citi Field for Game 3 on Monday. On paper, the Mets have a huge pitching advantage for the contest, with Matt Harvey (13-8, 2.71 ERA) lined up to take on middling Dodgers starter Brett Anderson (10-9, 3.69 ERA). Harvey has done his best work this year in New York, sporting an 8-3 record with a 2.23 ERA in 17 starts at home.

This game could lead to rule changes in MLB. Utley’s slide was legal, but the unfortunate end result for Tejada, overall questionable intent of the play and ensuing replay controversy may be catalysts for restrictions on baserunners and alterations to the review system.

Postgame Reaction

As one might expect, much of the postgame reaction focused on the Utley play. MLB official—and former Dodgers manager—Joe Torre weighed in on the play, via Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register: 

Utley himself explained his thought process, per ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Arash Markazi: 

Asked at length about the incident, Collins said he felt the officials handled things correctly in unclear circumstances in taking an out off the board and letting Utley come back to second, per MLB.com:

No, they never explain why. They just said he didn’t touch the bag. But certainly my argument is, you know, the road block. You go to all your available arguments. The road block, is it a neighborhood play? He didn’t touch the bag. All the things that — the umpires handled it great. They said we reviewed the whole thing, and obviously we didn’t think it was a good throw. So the neighborhood play was out. They thought that it’s pretty hard to rule that he didn’t touch the bag when he hit the shortstop and nobody was tagged, so they have no other call. So they handled it right.

No matter your take on the controversy, one thing is for certain: this conversation is far from over.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After being shut out Friday, the Chicago Cubs rode a five-run second inning to a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 2 of the National League Division Series to even things at one game apiece Saturday.

Jorge Soler provided the big blast in the second, hitting a two-run home run to Busch Stadium’s center field, but Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia opened the door for that inning before that.

Soler, who got the start in right field because Kyle Schwarber struggles against left-handed pitching, rewarded manager Joe Maddon’s confidence by reaching base in all four of his plate appearances (2-for-2 with the home run, a double and a pair of walks). 

Maddon told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune after Game 1 that he wasn’t necessarily committing to playing the 23-year-old.

“It’s possible,” Maddon said. “His attitude has been fabulous. He has been staying ready. He has been a great teammate. He knows what’s at stake. You’ll see him out there at some point.”

Given the mind games Maddon likes to play—there are few managers you would expect to have consecutive hitters bunt, for example—it’s safe to say the Cubs manager was being coy in that situation.

Making his first postseason appearance since 2012, Garcia’s five runs allowed were all unearned. He did have the biggest blunder of the game with an errant throw to first base after opposing pitcher Kyle Hendricks’ safety squeeze in the top of the second inning, though.

Garcia came off the mound, looked to first base, then looked to home plate—where Austin Jackson would have been out with a good throw—and finally made a flat-footed toss to first base that sailed wide. Addison Russell followed with another safety squeeze, and Dexter Fowler hit an infield single to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.

Soler’s home run followed for a 5-1 advantage.

Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com noted that Garcia didn’t have many days like this during the regular season:

Soler’s homer was also an anomaly for Garcia this season. Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com noted the southpaw had given up only one long ball in his last 71.2 innings. 

Trevor Cahill was another key piece for the Cubs in Game 2 and could be critical moving forward. The right-hander signed a minor league deal with the team in August, posted a 2.11 ERA in 11 regular-season outings and tossed an eight-pitch eighth inning with two strikeouts Saturday.

The win snapped a long streak for the Cubs, as Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago noted:

Perhaps this means that pesky 107-year streak without a World Series title will end for the Cubs, who have fate on their side thanks to Back to the Future Part II.

The sad part for St. Louis is the game started wonderfully. Garcia worked a quick first inning, and Matt Carpenter then led off the bottom half of the frame with a solo homer. 

This is a game the Cardinals will look back on if the series doesn’t go in their favor, because their pitching staff was charged with one earned run.

Cardinals communications coordinator Chris Tunno pointed out the bad luck that Garcia seems to have when it comes to poor defensive games in the playoffs:

Kolten Wong made an errant throw on a potential double-play ball immediately before Garcia had his big blunder, so there were plenty of opportunities for the Cardinals to get out of the inning with no more than one run having crossed the plate.

The Cardinals did try to make a comeback, getting back-to-back homers from Wong and Randal Grichuk in the fifth to cut the lead to 6-3, but that was as good as things would get.

However, per USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, Wong’s homer did help him tie a Major League Baseball record:

According to the Cardinals’ official Twitter account, Carpenter joined Lou Brock and Fernando Vina as the only players in franchise history to hit a leadoff homer in a postseason game. 

The victory was huge for the Cubs, and not just because they’ll head back home with the series tied. Ace Jake Arrieta, who has given up a total of four earned runs in his last 13 starts, including the NL Wild Card Game shutout against Pittsburgh, will take the mound in Game 3.

In fact, as Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post noted, Arrieta and Cahill can form a good Cubs sales team:

One positive for the Cardinals was that Adam Wainwright was terrific out of the bullpen, striking out three without allowing a baserunner in 1.2 innings. He’s not going to be able to start a game in this series, but manager Mike Matheny could begin to stretch him out for two- or three-inning stints. 

The Cardinals will have an excellent starter in Michael Wacha going Monday at Wrigley Field, but no one on the planet is pitching at the same level as Arrieta right now. St. Louis’ 100-win regular season earned it home-field advantage, but the Cubs have turned the tables. 

After hitting a low point less than 24 hours ago, the Cubs have the series right where they want it. The possible National League Cy Young winner will be on the mound next, and—if it gets that far—Jon Lester will be fully rested for Game 5.

Post-Game Reaction

Since the early bunting turned out to be the story of the game, it’s only fitting that Maddon would address it during his postgame press conference. 

Per 670 The Score, the manager praised his former bench coach in Tampa Bay, Don Zimmer, for the success of small-ball tactics:

Maddon, likely speaking from experience, also had a message for the people out there rooting for his team, via 670 The Score:

This is a special season for the Cubs, who won 97 games for the first time since 2008, and these kinds of years don’t happen often. Even with a terrific young nucleus in place for the future, all that matters is this moment. 

Speaking with all the confidence one would expect after the win, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo anticipates this is the team’s last trip to St. Louis in 2015, via 670 The Score:

Matheny has his back up against the wall, though he’s starting to play things close to the chest for Game 4, via 670 The Score:

Lance Lynn is the scheduled starter for that game, but a lot will likely depend on whether or not the Cardinals are facing elimination. 

The ball is certainly in the Cubs’ court. Heads were hanging after Game 1, but there isn’t a better 180 than taking advantage of opportunities St. Louis gives you and knowing what is lurking in the shadows roughly 48 hours from now. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The New York Mets grinded out a massive 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, notching the club’s first playoff win since 2006 and seizing home-field advantage. 

Friday’s nightcap featured a classic pitchers’ duel between Clayton Kershaw and Jacob deGrom, and last year’s NL Rookie of the Year got the best of the reigning MVP and Cy Young winner. The Mets ace struck out 13 in a seemingly effortless seven innings of scoreless work, earning the win thanks to Daniel Murphy’s fourth-inning home run.

Veteran David Wright later padded the Mets’ lead on a two-out, bases-loaded single in the seventh that pushed the score to 3-0, giving deGrom even more cushion to throw a magnificent game, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

The dominant outing from deGrom wasn’t the only stellar pitching going on, as Kershaw racked up 11 strikeouts of his own and allowed four hits in 6.2 innings. The combined strikeouts between the two starters nearly set an MLB record, as Fox Sports noted:

That being said, the result only continues a frustrating trend of playoff shortcomings for Kershaw. Not only did he see his postseason record worsen, but he lost to the Mets for the first time ever, as ESPN’s Darren Rovell noted:

Kershaw and the Dodgers head into Game 2 at Dodger Stadium, where fellow ace Zack Greinke will be on the hill looking to bail out his teammate. But that will have to come against another one of the Mets’ promising young pitchers in Noah Syndergaard.

With both teams’ front-line aces up Friday, though, neither offense could muster up much momentum in the early going.

Kershaw started out throwing a strikeout party, and deGrom simply chose to follow suit. The Dodgers ace tallied six strikeouts in his first three frames, while deGrom kept an even better pace with seven by the end of the third inning.

As Baseball Tonight noted, the strikeout meter got plenty of action early on:

With two opportunistic lineups, it seemed like only a matter of time until one of the pitchers would slip up enough to allow a game-changing hit. One would assume the 27-year-old second-year player—not the 27-year-old superstar—would eventually lose focus.

Instead, Kershaw laid one out for Daniel Murphy in the top of the fourth and the Mets second baseman jacked it out of the park. It might pain Mets fans to hear who the last player to homer in the postseason was, as Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal noted:

Even amid a bevy of early strikeouts, there was reason to believe a fateful swing from a Mets bat was in the cards. Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times thought so after seeing Kershaw miss his spots numerous times:

Beyond that one swing, Kershaw looked like he’d do enough to give the Dodgers offense a chance—mainly because the Dodgers kept threatening. They got into lengthy battles with deGrom and forced him into a couple of jams that blew his pitch count up to 121.

But in the seventh, that all changed. Kershaw walked two batters, allowed a deGrom sacrifice fly to put both runners in scoring position, walked another batter to load the bases and got the hook after 6.2 innings. Pedro Baez stepped in and immediately gave up Wright’s two-out, two-RBI single.

David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution couldn’t believe the switch:

After deGrom got out of the seventh, the onus was on the Mets bullpen to slam the door shut. It didn’t go so smoothly, as a double from Howie Kendrick followed by Adrian Gonzalez’s RBI single made it a 3-1 game in the eighth.

That brought in closer Jeurys Familia, who quelled all the buzz in the ballpark with the 50th save of his career—none bigger than this one. Needless to say, his teammates were ready to celebrate, as Mike Vorkunov of the New Jersey Star-Ledger noted:

There’s no doubt Friday night has been a long time coming for the Mets, who peaked at the right time during the season to carry that success over into October. Against a Dodgers team that’s fresh off last season’s playoff dud, it appeared a mental hangover was imminent.

The Dodgers have one more chance at home to shake that off, or a repeat of last year is one step closer to reality.

Post-Game Reaction

You couldn’t tell that Friday marked the first career playoff start for deGrom, who looked like a veteran with years of postseason experience. One pitcher that’s no stranger to seeing a big playoff performance is Kershaw, who tipped his hat to deGrom as Scott Miller of Bleacher Report noted:

On the heels of an instant-classic performance from deGrom, the question begs to be asked—how soon can the Mets get their star back on the mound? Considering his 121 pitches Friday, manager Terry Collins doesn’t see that happening anytime soon, per Adam Rubin of ESPN:

What’s Next

In a series that boasts arguably the best two pitching staffs from top to bottom in these playoffs, the pendulum could swing immediately. If it’s going to be in the Dodgers’ favor, they couldn’t have asked for a better option to help guide them than Greinke.

L.A.’s hopes rest on Greinke’s 1.66 ERA and Cy Young-caliber season as the Dodgers turn right around for a Saturday night home tilt. If he can’t out-duel Syndergaard the way that deGrom out-dueled Kershaw on Friday, the Dodgers will be staring at another disparaging NLDS exit.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The St. Louis Cardinals jumped out in front immediately against the Chicago Cubs and didn’t look back, taking a 4-0 victory in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Busch Stadium. 

Back-to-back hits from Stephen Piscotty and Matt Holliday put the Cardinals on the board in the first, giving John Lackey the chance to find his command and shut down the Cubs bats. Lackey pitched a dazzling two-hit shutout in 7.1 innings of action.

Amid Lackey’s career-best playoff performance, he joined an exclusive list of pitchers who have blanked the Cubs in October, as ESPN Stats & Info observed:

Former teammate Jon Lester nearly matched Lackey’s dominance on the mound for the Cubs, going 7.1 innings himself and giving up just five hits with nine strikeouts. But the Chicago ace couldn’t keep it going in the eighth, conceding pinch hitter Thomas Pham’s solo home run.

When Piscotty followed that up two batters later by cranking a two-run home run off Chicago reliever Pedro Strop, it was no secret who the game-changing performers were, as Jim Bowden of ESPN noted:

All the talk regarding young players in this series—and this postseason, really—revolved around the Cubs’ Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell. That trio combined to go 3-for-10, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted which rookies had the upper hand Friday:

Without Jake Arrieta and his shutdown stuff on the mound, the Cubs looked like a different team early on. The troubles began right away, as the top of the Cardinals order jumped on Lester and made things difficult for him.

Piscotty got things going with a double as the second batter of the game, and Holliday responded accordingly. He knocked Piscotty in with an RBI single, marking St. Louis’ first run since the turn of the month after being blanked in its season-ending series, per Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com:

Most importantly, it gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead that they never looked intent on relinquishing. Despite Lester shaking off his first inning to shut down the Cardinals through the middle of the game, the Cubs bats struggled to solve Lackey.

The Cardinals ace had his best stuff going, and it showed throughout the first half of the game. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and hadn’t given up a hit after five innings.

It marked Lackey’s longest no-hit bid of 2015, as ESPN Stats & Info observed:

It would be short-lived, though, as Russell opened the sixth with a single that led to plenty of gasps from the crowd. Once Russell was on base, the Cardinals had much bigger worries than a squashed no-hitter.

Lackey responded by retiring the next two batters, but Russell stole second and advanced to third in the process. Then, Cubs leadoff man Dexter Fowler nearly changed the entire game with a deep shot to right field.

It looked gone at first, but the ball failed to carry and Piscotty caught it at the warning track to calm the nerves of Cards fans, as David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune noted:

Plenty of others thought Fowler had given the Cubs the lead with that close call, including ESPN’s Mike Greenberg:

The jams didn’t end there for St. Louis and Lackey, who had to fight through a Schwarber bunt single in the seventh that eventually led to an inning-ending double play. That concluded Lackey’s night with a pearly seven-inning two-hitter.

For a pitcher with plenty of postseason experience with the Los Angeles Angels and Red Sox, it’s pretty remarkable that Friday produced arguably Lackey’s best playoff outing, per Goold:

With Lester dealing similarly well, the Cardinals didn’t have much of an opportunity to extend their lead. He retired a long stretch of batters in the middle innings, 12 straight from the bottom of the fourth until the eighth.

But the Cubs rode Lester’s arm just a bit too far. The Cardinals extended their lead to 2-0 when the pinch-hitting Pham cranked a solo shot. A switch to the bullpen didn’t end Chicago’s troubles, as Piscotty jacked a two-run home run two batters later.

The rookie duo joins a long list of Cardinals who had their coming-out party in the postseason, as Brett Edgerton of ESPN noted:

The playoffs couldn’t have started much better for the Cardinals, who had a chance to shake off their late-season offensive struggles and set the tone against their bitter division rival. Lackey afforded them that opportunity with a magnificent seven innings of action.

As for the Cubs, their bats suddenly going cold is not the sign Joe Maddon and Co. wanted to see. It gives Chicago just one run in its last 15 innings of play, cooling off after a hot start in the Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh. 

Post-Game Reaction

While the Cubs undoubtedly had their chances and simply couldn’t solve the Cardinals’ pitching, a plethora of Lackey’s success involved painting the outside of the strike zone. That had the Cubs batters often questioning the umpire’s calls, and it’s not surprising that the talking continued past the final out.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon summed up the thoughts of his team with more silence than wods, as Jesse Rogers of ESPN noted:

That being said, Lackey also deserves a lot of credit for having the command to plant most of his pitches right on the corners and get the Cubs bats to sit on eventual strikes, as Mark Tomasik of Retrosimba.com noted:

What’s Next

Chicago won’t be counted out before Arrieta starts Game 3, but the Cubs will have to make something happen without him if they want to avoid giving him the ball facing a 2-0 series deficit. Kyle Hendricks (8-7) gets the start for Game 2 on Saturday evening, matching up against the Cardinals’ Jaime Garcia (10-6).

If the Cubs aspire to make this a long series and return to Wrigley Field with any bit of momentum, they’ll have to flush this offensive performance from their minds and hit the reset button.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com