LOS ANGELES — Two teams ahead of their time will meet in the National League Championship Series with a chance to reach the World Series sooner than anyone would have expected.
The Chicago Cubs’ resurrection under first-year manager Joe Maddon was paralleled in many ways by the New York Mets’ unexpected run to the NLCS led by a core of hard-throwing young pitchers.
Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, in particular, went head to head with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two Cy Young Award candidates, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and came out on top.
“We got here because we have very, very good pitching,” Mets manager Terry Collins said after New York beat Los Angeles 3-2 Thursday in the decisive Game 5 of the NL Division Series. “In the middle of the summer when we weren’t scoring any runs, we were still in games. We’d still win close games because our pitching kept us in it. Our starters, our bullpen — they’re young, yeah, they’re inexperienced. But they’ve got quality stuff, and that still pays off.
“That’s why we’ve said all along — no matter what the outcome of the season is, the light at the end of the tunnel is here, and this is going to be a bright future for this organization.”
Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy had a three-hit game in Game 5, including a home run off Greinke. He also homered off Kershaw in both Game 1 and Game 4.
Only one player all regular season managed to hit a home run off both Greinke and Kershaw (Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun). Even so, Murphy credited his team’s pitchers for giving the Mets a chance to win.
“What it says is how good our pitching staff is,” Murphy said.