White Sox end seven game skid

Michael Conforto watches the ball land into the seats as Tyler Saladino hit a two run homer in the eighth inning. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

The New York Mets had a 4-0 lead but couldn't hold on as the Chicago White Sox rallied to a 6-4 win. The White Sox ended their seven game losing streak.

The Mets jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a sacrifice fly by Yoenis Cespedes to left field that scored Curtis Granderson. Granderson hit a sac-fly of his own in the second that scored Wilmer Flores.

In the third, with Michael Conforto on, Neil Walker belted his 13th home run of the season. With the Mets up 4-0 they looked well on their way to another win, and handing the White Sox their eighth loss in a row.

Mets rookie starting pitcher Steven Matz went 5.2 innings with three strikeouts while allowing three runs. Todd Frazier hit a two run homer in the sixth and Dioner Navarro got an RBI single to make ait a 4-3 deficit.

One of the biggest story lines of the night was Noah Syndergaard coming out of the bullpen. He got ejected very early in his start on Saturday night for throwing behind Chase Utley. Mets manager Terry Collins said he hoped to use Syndergaard from the bullpen on Tuesday night. He came in during the seventh inning and struck out two batters while allowing no runs. The rest of the Mets pen, could not hold off the White Sox and protect the Mets 4-3 lead. Hansel Robles took the loss as he allowed the decisive three runs in the eighth inning.

"It was frustrating. I was trying to do my job and go out and throw zeros across the board, but that occured," said Robles.

Tyler Saladino hit a two run homer and Brett Lawrie added an RBI single as the White Sox held off the Mets to win 6-4.

"It's obvious, command of his fastball. He's getting in deep counts, getting to where he pretty much has to throw his fastball and he's not making a pitch with it," said manager Terry Collins.

The third and final game takes place today at 1:10 as Jacob deGrom (3-1, 2.81 ERA) goes up against Miguel Gonzalez (0-1, 4.50 ERA).

The Dark Knight rises, Harvey dominates

Matt Harvey exits the field after his best start of the season (Al Bello/Getty Images)

In his last seven games, Matt Harvey has gone 3-4. Prior to Monday he dropped his last three starts allowing a total of 19 runs.  Two of those starts came against their NL East rivals, the Nationals. In his last Citi Field start, he was booed as he was pulled out of the game after allowing 19 runs. There were rumors he would get moved to the bullpen or sent down to the minors. He needed redemption and he got it on Memorial Day as he looked like his old self and won the fans over in a 1-0 win.

Harvey went seven innings allowing two hits, one walk and six strikeouts and the Mets got a big 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

"There's a lot of emotion. It's been a while... The idea is to do everything you can to help the team, and I felt like I wasn't doing that very well," said Harvey. "Today, to be able to go out in a one-run ballgame like that and be able to put up zeros was very exciting."

The only scary moment for Harvey came in the seventh. After giving up a walk and a base hit, he retired the next three batters to get out of the jam.

"When you're mentally strong, you don't worry about the other stuff, you fight through it. That's the Matt Harvey we always knew. He can give up a home run and retire 16 in a row after that. It never bothered him," said Mets manager Terry Collins.

The Mets lone run came in the seventh with a home run by Neil Walker to left-center field, his 12th long ball of the season.

"It's probably the most (homers) I've had to this point in the year in my career. I guess it's uncharted territory for me, but more than that, I'm happy to be stringing together good at-bats," Walker said. "Days like today when I'm able to give them a lead late in the game feels pretty good."

It was an afternoon of redemption for closer Jeurys Familia as well. After he gave up six runs in two innings over the weekend facing the Dodgers, Familia closed out the White Sox in the ninth for his 17th save on the year.

The Mets will turn to Steven Matz (7-1) while the White Sox will counter with Mat Latos (6-1) at 7:10.

Mets fall to Dodgers in extras

(Elsa/Getty Images)

The Mets were looking to redeem themselves after getting trounced on their home turf the night before with a lopsided 9-1 loss and a ton of drama.  Noah Syndergaard was ejected for throwing behind Chase Utley and Utley had the last laugh with a home run and grand slam.  On Sunday Night Baseball, the Dodgers scored two runs in the ninth for a 4-2 win.

Clayton Kershaw took the ball for the Dodgers and went up against "Big Sexy" Bartolo Colon.  LA jumped out to a 2-0 lead.  They scored in the third on a fielder's choice and again in the fifth with an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez.

In the sixth, the Mets cut the deficit in half with a home run by Asdrubal Cabrera into the party deck in left field.  In the eighth, with Kevin Plawecki on, Curtis Granderson tripled to bring him home. With the game tied at 2, the Mets turned to closer Juerys Familia, who blew a save on Friday night. He loaded the bases and Gonzalez came through with a single to bring home two runs for the eventual 4-2 win.

The Mets turn to Matt Harvey as they welcome the Chicago White Sox to town on Memorial Day. Harvey looks to bounce back from his poor previous two starts.

Utley ruins 86' celebration

Members of the 1986 Mets were honored before the game. Courtesy of Elsa (Getty Images)

The Mets celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1986 World Series championship on Saturday night, welcoming back members of that exciting team to Citi Field.  Before a sellout crowd, each member was introduced and there were a couple of great video montages highlighting that magical season.  

Members of the 86' Mets pose for a photo with the World Series trophy (Elsa/Getty Images)

Jesse Orosco threw out the first pitch and imiatated the final out of the 86' World Series with D.J. Carter, the son of Gary Carter.  Gary passed away in 2012 and for the other members that passed away their family members took part in the festivities.  

"These things are kind of cool.  This is a big part of Mets history.  But we're trying to create our own right now.  We're more worried about the 2016 Mets... I think what we're trying to do is create our own identity,"said current Mets manager Terry Collins. 

The celebration was the only good highlight for the Mets that night.  In the top of the third, Mets ace Noah Syndergaard got ejected from the game for throwing behind Chase Utley.  The umpire saw it as a possible retaliation from last October's incident where Utley injured then-Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada when he slid into him.

Noah Syndergaard exits the game early for throwing a pitch behind Chase Utley (Tim Clayton-Corbis/Getty Images)

Utley had the last laugh.  He homered in the sixth inning and in the seventh hit a grand slam as the Dodgers beat the Mets 9-1.  The Mets look for payback tonight on Sunday Night Baseball with first pitch at 8:05.

Granderson, Mets walk-off Dodgers

Mets teammates mob Curtis Granderson after his ninth inning walk-off home run. Courtesy of Al Bello (Getty Images)

The Mets welcomed the Dodgers into town this weekend for a three game series.  It is a special Memorial Day weekend as the Mets are honoring the 1986 Mets on the 30th anniversary of their dramatic World Series win over the Red Sox.  While the big ceremony takes place on Saturday night, the Mets got some early fireworks going on Friday night in the form of a ninth inning walk-off home run by Curtis Granderson.

The Mets got off to a fast start.  In the bottom of the first with Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes on base, Neil Walker doubled into the left field corner to score Cabrera.  Juan Lageres followed with a single into centerfield that scored Cespedes and put the Mets up 2-0.  

After a Chase Utley sacrifice fly in the third put the Dodgers on the board, the Mets answered in the fourth.  David Wright homered for the third straight game.  His solo shot into centerfield put the Mets up 4-1.  In the fifth, Juan Lageres homered into right field to give the Mets the commanding 5-1 lead.  

Mets starting pitcher, Jacob deGrom had a solid start.  He went seven innings allowing just one run on three hits, striking out seven and walking three batters.

"I feel closer.  There's still some work, but this is a step in the right direction," deGrom said.  "I didn't give up as many hard hit balls tonight; there were a couple hit at Cabrera but their base hits, none of those were really hit hard.  So I think that's a step in the right direction."

Jeurys Familia went out in the ninth inning to finish the game, though it wasn't originally a save situation.  He loaded the bases and allowed a walk to Yasmini Grandal that cut their lead to just three with Utley due up.  Utley was booed the sellout Citi Field crowd the entire night.  Fans were still bitter about his controversial slide that injured Ruben Tejada last October.  

Utley made those boos even louder and silenced the crowd in the process.  He delivered a clutch base hit into right field to score three runs and tie the game up at 5.

"You're always shocked when Jeurys doesn't come in and slam the door, but look, we had a chance to win the last game and we did it.  We'll take it and get ready for tomorrow," said Terry Collins.  

In the bottom of the ninth, Granderson made the crowd erupt again as he took the second pitch of the at-bat into the right field seats for a walk-off home run to give the Mets the 6-5 win over the Dodgers.

Granderson said the fans and the atmosphere in the ballpark all weekend with the tributes to 86' will benefit with the motivation.

"The fans did a good job of keeping us motivated.  We had a packed house here for the 86' weekend, which is definitely good," said Granderson.  

With the win and the Nationals losing 6-2 to the Cardinals, the Mets are now tied with the Nats for first place in the NL East. Game two will take place tonight at 7:15 and prior to the game the Mets will honor the 1986 team with a special pregame ceremony.  Then Noah Syndergaard will take the mound looking for another stellar start.  

Mets sweep Brewers

Noah Syndergaard has been named NL Player of the Week for May 16-22. Courtesy of Mitchell Clayton/Getty Images

Noah Syndergaard was electric on the mound and Michael Conforto and Asdrubal Cabrera provided the offensive support as the Mets swept the Brewers at Citi Field on Sunday afternoon 3-1.  The win gives New York some much needed momentum as they head to Washington for a crucial and exciting three game series against the first place Nationals.  

Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the first, Conforto came through with a home run to tie the game, a solo shot to right-center.  Conforto hasn't had his best month, hitting just .194, however over the last seven days he's batted .300 with three home runs.  

"I think during my rough stretch, my swings were okay, but my decisions weren't good," said Conforto.  "I took a look at it, and I was getting in my own way by swinging at pitches out of the zone.  

In the bottom of the fourth, Conforto led off by drawing a walk.  Yoenis Cespedes followed with a blooper to shallow left field.  Ryan Braun slid attempting to catch or stop it and the ball went past him allowing Cespedes to take second base. Instead of a single or pop out.  Two batters later, Cabrera sent them home with a two-run single into right field.

Syndergaard dominated on the mound.  He went seven innings, allowed only one run on six hits while striking out 11.  His efforts both in this start and his previous start on Tuesday night against Washington (which he struck out 10) helped earn him the NL Player of the Week.  

"The growth that I've had in the span of one year has been night and day.  I have the ability to go out there and have the confidence to throw any pitch at any given time," said Syndergaard.

The sweep over the Brewers was a good response for the Mets after a horrible performance in the previous series against their division rivals the Nats.  

"We spent last year doing the same thing.  We'd have a tough series and everybody would be writing us off, and we'd bounce back and play good," said Mets manager Terry Collins.  

The sweep pulls the Mets within a game and a half of Washington as these teams will meet starting tonight in DC.  Bartolo Colon gets the start for the Mets up against Gio Gonzalez.  

Captain Clutch: David Wright comes through with walk-off base hit

Mets teammates mob David Wright following his walk-off base hit. Courtesy of Elsa/Getty Images

The Mets were hoping to create some momentum after a quality win on Friday night to snap a two game losing skid and a slump that saw them drop six of seven prior to that win.  On Saturday afternoon the Mets and Brewers continued their three game weekend series.  Once again the Mets had to rally and they did, this time with a 5-4 victory.

Jacob deGrom took the ball for New York.  Despite striking out seven batters he went five innings allowing five runs on four hits.  The Mets fell took a 1-0 lead when Curtis Granderson led off with a home run on the second pitch of the at-bat.  The lead was short-lived as the Brewers scored twice in both the second and fourth innings.  The Mets, for the second day in a row, had to play catch-up.  Ramon Flores hit his first home run of his career, a two run shot, in the second.  Flores got an RBI groundout in the fourth while Jonathan Villar had an RBI single.

In the bottom of the fourth, trailing by three runs, the Mets began their comeback.  Yoenis Cespedes got on base with a single.  Two batters later, Asdrubal Cabrera drove him in.  Trailing by two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Michael Conforto drew a walk and Cespedes hit a two run homer that landed just inside the left field corner near the foul pole.  Citi Field erupted.  It was a brand new ballgame.

The bottom of the ninth started out with Eric Campbell leading off with a single.  Kevin Plawecki followed with a walk.  Matt Reyonolds hit a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over to second and third to bring up Granderson.  Brewers reliever Michael Blazek decided to intentionally walk him to load the bases which brought David Wright to the plate.

Wright has struggled all season long and he had a chance to come up clutch and show why he is one of the best franchise players of all time.  Wright worked a 3-0 count before lining a single to right=center to score Campbell and send the fans home happy.

"It's nice to be able to contribute to  a win.  These guys have picked me up so much this year that it's nice to be able to return the favor, do something positive to allow us to celebrate in here after the game," said Wright.

This afternoon the Mets and Brewers will conclude the three game weekend series in Flushing.  Chase Anderson will take the ball for the Brewers while the Mets will counter with their top pithcer Noah Syndergaard.  First pitch is at 1:10.

Mets rebound with win over Brewers

Entering Friday night's game at Citi Field the Mets have dropped six of their last seven including two of three to the Nationals.  The Mets looked to bounce back Friday night after Matt Harvey's worst outing of his career.  They got it with a 3-2 win to open their three game series.

Steven Matz took the mound for New York and pitched seven solid innings to win his sixth start in a row.  He got off to a rough start surrendering a two run homer to Chris Carter in the first inning however, he retired 15 consecutive batters after that as he went seven innings with nine strikeouts and no walks.

The Mets got on the board in the second inning with an RBI groundout by Rene Rivera.  Still trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning the Mets rallied.  Asdrubal Cabrera singled to lead off the frame.  Michael Conforto followed that up with a two run shot into left field to give the Mets a 3-2 lead they would not squander.

Game two of the three game set is today with a 4:10 first pitch from Citi Field.  Jacob deGrom will take the ball for the Mets while Zach Davies will pitch for the Brewers

World Series Recap Games 1-4

The 2015 World Series between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals is well underway.  The Royals lead the series 3 games to 1 and before Game 5 tonight let's take a look back at the previous four games.

Game 1:

The World Series began at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.  It was an interesting game as it ended as the longest game one in World Series history.  The Royals scored first on the very first pitch of their at bat as Alcides Escobar hit an inside-the-park home run as Yoenis Cespedes misplayed the ball.  In the fourth the Mets tied it on an RBI single by Travis d'Arnaud that scored Daniel Murphy.  In the top of the fifth, Curtis Granderson hit a home run into right field.  In the sixth the Mets made it 3-1 as Michael Conforto hit a sac fly to score Cespedes.  In the bottom of the sixth the Royals tied it.  In the top of the eighth the Mets took the lead as Wilmer Flores reached first base on a fielding error.  The error resulted in Juan Lagares scoring.  With a 4-3 lead, Jeurys Familia came on to try to close out the game but he blew it.  With one out Alex Gordon hit a home run to tie the game and force extra innings.  In the 14th Eric Hosmer's sac fly scored Escobar and the Royals took a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2:

The Mets got off to a good start with an RBI single by Lucas Duda to score Daniel Murphy but the Royals exploded for seven runs en route to a 7-1 win over the Mets.  Royals starting pitcher Johnny Cueto out dueled Jacob deGrom, pitching a complete game.

Game 3:

The series shifted to New York for the first World Series game in Citi Field history.  The crowd was fired up as Billy Joel sang the national anthem and Mike Piazza threw out the ceremonial first pitch.  Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard sent a message early, throwing at Alcides Escobar's head.  The Royals took 1-0 lead but the Mets answered quickly in the bottom frame.  With Curtis Granderson on base, David Wright hit a homer to left-center to put the fans into a frenzy.  The Royals scored two in the top of the second to go up 3-2.  In the bottom of the third, Syndergaard got a big base hit and Curtis Granderson homered to put the Mets back up 4-3 and they never looked back.  In the sixth, with Juan Lagares and Wimer Flores on base, Juan Uribe singled to right field to score Lagares.  Wright followed with a base hit to deep centerfield to score Flores and Uribe.  Yoenis Cespedes finished up the scoring when he hit a sac fly to score Granderson.  Syndergaard or "Thor", what the fans call him, pitched a gem going six innings and striking out six.  The Mets took Game 3 with a final score of 9-3.

Game 4:

On Halloween night, the Royals robbed the Mets and now put them on the ropes after Game 4.  The Mets showed a lot of promise early on.  In the bottom of the third, Michael Conforto homered to right field.  The Mets went up 2-0 on a sac fly by Curtis Granderson that scored Wilmer Flores and the Mets were up 2-0.  In the bottom of the fifth, Conforto hit his second home run of the game to right-center. 3-1 Mets.  In the sixth the Royals got within one and in the eighth the Royals took advantage of a terrible Mets bullpen, scoring three runs to go up 5-3 which was the eventual final score.  The culprits in the pen were Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia.  Clippard took the loss while Familia blew the save.  

Tonight it is do or die for the Mets in Game 5.  For the Royals they are now one win away and could potentially clinch it tonight unless the Mets have anything to say about that.  The pitching match-up tonight is Edison Volquez for KC and Matt Harvey for NY.  Will the Royals win the World Series tonight after failing to last year or will the Mets win in front of their home crowd and keep the series going.  Tune in to FOX at 8:00 to find out. 

World Series Preview

This year’s World Series features two teams that are looking to win it all for the first time since the 1980’s.  Representing the National League is the New York Mets, who haven’t won a World Series since 1986.  Over on the American League side, the Kansas City Royals return to the Fall Classic for the second straight year after losing last year to the San Francisco Giants in seven games.  The Royals are looking to win the World Series for the first time in 30 years, 1985. 

Daniel Murphy has been the hottest hitter on the Mets all postseason; in 38 at-bats he hit .421 with seven homers, 11 RBI’s and a 1.462 OPS.  He homered in every single game of the National League Championship Series in which the Mets swept the Chicago Cubs in four games.  He actually has homered for six straight games heading into Game 1 on Tuesday night.  Besides Murphy, the Mets lineup features other solid bats such as Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes, and Travis d’Arnaud.  The offense for the Royals has been the best of any team in the postseason, collectively hitting .271 with a .777 OPSl the lineup is led by Alcides Escobar, Ben Zobrist, Lorenzo Cain, Kendrys Morales, Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon. 

The Mets feature arguably the best starting pitching staff of the postseason.  Their rotation is now set.  Matt Harvey will pitch Game 1 followed by Jacob deGrom for Game 2, Noah Syndergaard for Game 3, and Steven Matz for Game 4.  As a staff, they have a postseason ERA of 2.65 and a ratio of 69 strikeouts to 18 walks across 54.1 innings in nine games.  The projected starting rotation for the Royals, not yet confirmed, features Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Yordano Ventura, and Chris Young.  The Royals starters need to have better outings to keep up with the Mets.  Through 11 postseason games, the Royas have managed just a 5.56 ERA in 55 innings. 

Both of these teams have been the best teams in baseball all season long so it is fitting that both of these guys are matching up in the World Series.  This will be a very tight series.  I predict the Mets to win in seven games. 

Mets Sweep Cubs, Advance To World Series

After many years of following the Mets from the days of Mike Piazza I can finally say they are going to the World Series.  When the Mets won game three you can hear it from two sides, some saying the Mets will finish the Cubs while others believed the Cubs could rally.  The Mets wasted no time in the beginning of the game.  With Curtis Granderson and Yoenis Cespedes on, Lucas Duda hit a three run homer to centerfield.  The very next batter, Travis d'Arnaud hit a homer to right-center and the Mets were up 4-0 after the first inning.

Duda also came up big in the following inning.  With David Wright and Daniel Murphy on, Duda doubled into centerfield to score them. 6-0 Mets.  The Cubs were able to get a run in the fourth but for the most part had a hard time against starting pitcher Steven Matz and starter-turned reliever Bartolo Colon.  Matz went 4.2 innings striking out four.  Colon would get the win.

Back in 1945, tavern owner Billy Sianis brought his pet goat to a World Series game at Wrigley Field.  Because the goat smelled, they both got kicked out.  After they got kicked out, Sianis said the Cubs would win no more, in other words never make it back to the World Series.  They haven't been back since.  The weird part about all of this is that the goat's name was Murphy and the player who was the best this entire series has been Daniel Murphy.  Murphy's law came into effect in the eighth inning.  With Wright on, Murphy homered to dead centerfield to quiet the crowd.  It was his seventh straight game with a homer.  The Mets would win 8-3 and advance to their first World Series since 2000.  Murphy would win series MVP.  They will face the Royals after Kansas City won Friday night.  The series will start on Tuesday at 8 from Kauffman Stadium.  Matt Harvey will pitch for the Mets.

Mets On The Brink Of World Series

After the Mets won the first two games in New York the series shifted to Chicago before a fired up crowd at Wrigley Field.  The pitching matchup featured Jacob deGrom for the Mets while the Cubs countered with Kyle Hendricks.  The Mets wasted no time getting on the board.  David Wright got on base and Yoenis Cespedes drove him in with a base hit to left field to score Wright to go up 1-0.

The Cubs tied it in the bottom of the first when Kyle Schwarber homered to left-center and set the fans into a frenzy.  Daniel Murphy, who has been playing out of his mind, got a lot of boos from the crowd. As he stepped in the batter's box in the third inning, you guessed it, he homered to centerfield.  In the fourth the Cubs tied it back up on a Jorge Soler home run.  

In the sixth, a big momentum shift happened for the Mets.  After a ground rule double that saved the Cubs a run, Chicago had the momentum but not for long.  With Cespedes on third, Michael Conforto was at the plate.  Conforto struck out swinging but the ball went past the catcher, Cespedes scored and Conforto made it to first, 3-2 Mets.  

The Mets added two more runs in the seventh.  With Wright and Murphy on, Cespedes hit an RBI single and advanced to second.  Lucas Duda grounded out but Murphy scored and that was all the Mets needed.  5-2 was the final score and the Mets are now one win away from the World Series.  deGrom pitched seven innings with seven strikeouts earning himself the win while Jeurys Familia got the save.  Tonight's pitching matchup will feature Steven Matz for the Mets while the Cubs counter with Jason Hammel.  

Mets Take First Two Games Of NLCS

For the first time since 2003 the Chicago Cubs were in the NLCS.  For the Mets, it was their first time since 2006.  Games one and two were Saturday and Sunday night from Citi Field.  Here is a recap of both games:

Game 1:

In game one, Matt Harvey pitched a gem and Daniel Murphy continued to put up big numbers in the postseason.  Murphy, after his clutch homer in game five of the NLDS that gave the Mets the win, picked up right where he left off with a home run to right field right off the Pepsi Porch to give the Mets the 1-0 lead.  After the Cubs tied it in the top of the fifth, the Mets answered with an RBI single by Curtis Granderson to give the Mets the lead 2-1.  In the bottom of the sixth, Travis d'Arnaud homered to centerfield.  The ball was so deep it hit the "home run apple."  In the bottom of the seventh Granderson got an RBI sac fly to put the Mets up 4-1.  The final score would be 4-2.  Matt Harvey pitched a gem going 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts.  Jeurys Familia got the four out save to close the game and give the Mets the 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: 

In Game 2 of the NLCS, the Mets were looking to go up 2-0 before heading to Chicago.  David Wright has struggled much of the Postseason but he helped the Mets get off to a good start.  With Curtis Granderson on base, Wright got a base hit in deep centerfield to score Granderson and give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  Then Daniel Murphy continued his hot Postseason with a two-run home run into right field.  It was his fifth homer of the Postseason which ties a Mets record.  He is tied with Mike Piazza. 

In the second inning, Chris Coghlan of the Cubs tried to get his team back in the game.  He almost did so with a home run but Granderson made a great catch to take it away from him.  

Noah Syndergaard pitched a gem as he went 5.2 innings with nine strikeouts for the win.  Jeurys Familia got the save and the Mets took Game 2 with a final score of 4-1 and lead the series 2-0.  The series shifts to Wrigley Field tonight for Game 3.  Jacob deGrom will take the ball for the Mets while Kyle Hendricks will pitch for the Cubs.  FIrst pitch is at 8:00 and the game can be seen on TBS.

Murphy's Big Night Lifts Mets To NLCS

After failing to close out the series at home, the Mets and the Dodgers were tied at two games setting up the "win or go home" Game 5.  It was a pitchers duel from Dodger Stadium as Zack Greinke pitched for LA while Jacob deGrom took the ball for the Mets.

Daniel Murphy, who would eventually have a breakout game, got it all started for the Mets at the start of the game.  He hit a double to left field to score Curtis Granderson.  Murphy wound up taking third on a fielding error.  The Dodgers responded with two runs in the bottom frame to take the 2-1 lead.  In the top of the fourth, Murphy was at it again.  With Murphy at first, a walk was issued.  Since there was a big shift, nobody was covering third so that allowed Murphy to advance to third.  That set up a Travis d'Arnaud sacrifice fly to right field to score Murphy and tie the game.

deGrom went six innings and struck out 7 eventually earning the win.  Noah Syndergaard, another starter, did some bullpen work striking out two.  In the top of the sixth, Murphy continued his impressive plate performance launching a home run into the right field seats to give the Mets the lead for good 3-2.  Jeurys Familia worked a six out save and struck out the final two batters to seal the win!

The Mets celebrated on the field at Dodger Stadium and popped bottles of champagne in the clubhouse.   Now they move on to the NLCS with game one set for tonight at Citi Field vs. the Chicago Cubs.  It's going to be one heck of a series 

Mets Use Bats, Take Game 3

After a controversial play on Saturday night involving Chase Utley sliding into Ruben Tejada illegally, helping the Dodgers get the eventual win, the series shifted to New York with the series tied at one game apiece.  The Mets sent Matt Harvey to the mound in the first ever postseason game at Citi Field.

During pre-game introductions it was an incredible sight.  When Utley's name was called, Mets fans responded with some of the loudest boos I've ever heard.  Utley was always a villain to fans during his time with the Phillies but he solidified his status with his slide into Tejada the other night.  As a result Tejada was injured, and Utley got suspended but he appealed and was eligible to play.  When Tejada was introduced, he came out with a crutch and tipped his hat to the fans.

The Dodgers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second but the Mets responded quickly in the bottom frame.  With Yoenis Cespedes and Lucas Duda on, Travis d'Arnaud singled to centerfield to score Cespedes.  After Wilmer Flores got on the bases were loaded with Curtis Granderson up.  He launched it to deep centerfield to the wall to clear the bases and give the Mets a 4-3 lead.  In the bottom of the third, d'Arnaud hit a two run homer to put the Mets up 6-3.

In the bottom of the fourth Daniel Murphy hit an RBI single to left field.  Then with two on, Cespedes hit a three-run homer to put the sellout crowd into a frenzy.  The Mets put up three more runs in the bottom of the 7th with a sac-fly by Michael Conforto and a two-RBI double by Granderson.  Matt Harvey pitched pretty well for his first Postseason start, pitching 5.0 innings and striking out 7.

Utley never went in the game but there were numerous chants of "We want Utley!" The Mets took game three with the final score 13-7 and will look to punch their ticket to the NLCS with a win tonight in Game 4.  Rookie Steven Matz will take the ball for the Mets while LA will counter with Clayton Kershaw with first pitch from Citi Field beginning at 8:00.

Mets Clinch NL East For First Time Since 2006

For the first time since 2006, the Mets not only clinched the NL East Division title but also a spot in the postseason.  There will be October baseball in Queens once again.  The road to get to this point has been one of ups and downs.  After losing Game 7 of the NLCS in 06 in heartbreaking fashion to the Cardinals, the Mets were expected to return to the playoffs the following year.  They had a 7.5 game lead over the Phillies with two weeks left in the season but couldn't get the job done.  In 2008, they looked to bounce back from that late-season collapse in their final year at Shea Stadium.  They once again choked away the division lead and the Phils gone on to win the World Series.  

2009 marked a new era and sadly a rebuilding one in their first year in their new ballpark, Citi Field.  Two years later, GM Sandy Alderson got involved with some scandal that made him and the team nearly bankrupt.  That was an all time low for the franchise.  It wasn't until 2013 when you could start seeing progress.  The Mets had drafted Matt Harvey and had great pitching both currently that year and down on the farm.  2014 saw the emergence of Jacob deGrom as he went on to win NL Rookie Of The Year.

The Mets kept up with the Nationals all season long, who were heavily favored to win the division.  Then in late July and early August, a sweep at home over Washington catapulted the Mets to the front of the division and they never looked back.  On Saturday September 26, those nine years of misery finally came to an end. 

A ton of Mets fans made the trip in the hopes that they would clinch the division that day.  As early as the first inning, the Mets had no doubt. Lucas Duda got the party started with a grand slam in the first inning.  In the top of the second, Curtis Granderson hit a solo shot.  With a 5-2 lead in the top of the third and Daniel Murphy and Duda on base, Michael Cuddyer doubled to centerfield to score them to go up 7-2.  In the top of the ninth, captain David Wright put the icing on the cake with a three run homer.  The Mets won the game 10-2 and the champagne bottles started poppin shortly after.

Mets Sweep Nats, Tie For First Place

The New York Mets are now in first place, at least in a tie, for the first time since 2008.  Entering the weekend the Nats had a chance to bury the Mets in the NL East but they failed, miserably.  Now the Nationals leave New York with their division foes tied with them in the division.  In front of a ruckus crowd at Citi Field and a national TV audience these ball clubs took center stage for Sunday Night Baseball.

The Nationals looked to make a statement to start the game and they got it on an Anthony Rendon home run in the first inning.  Rendon, batting second, hit one just above the centerfield wall.  It was originally ruled a base hit but the play got reviewed and overturned for the homer.  After allowing that home run however, Mets rookie starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard settled down.  At one point he retired 13 consecutive batters on the way to his sixth win.  He allowed seven hits and two runs, walked none and struck out nine.

In the bottom of the third, Curtis Granderson hit a two run homer into the right field stands to give the Mets a 2-1 lead they wouldn't relinquish.  Before the crowd could sit down, Daniel Murphy followed with a home run to right field right into the Pepsi Porch.  The back-to-back homers put the sellout crowd into a frenzy.  Two batters later with Yoenis Cespedes on, Lucas Duda continued his hot streak as he homered to right field making it 5-2 Mets.  Duda has now homered nine times in the last eight games, all at home.  All five runs in that third inning came on two outs.

The only run the Nats could muster the rest of the game came in the top of the sixth with a solo shot by Yunel Escobar but the Nats bats were quiet much of the night facing a pitcher the fans of NY call "Thor."  Syndergaard threw a total of 109 pitches with his last pitch thrown resulting in a strikeout of Bryce Harper.  To add insult to injury Tyler Clippard, a former Nat, picked up the save.  Clippard got traded to the Mets earlier last week and said the Nats were "beatable."  After this weekend, he could be right.

It was only August 2 yet this contest felt like a playoff game.  Citi Field was rocking all weekend long like those days the Mets played at Shea Stadium.  I have never heard that place this loud.  The Nationals look to regroup with a four game series beginning tonight at Nats Park against the Arizona D-Backs.  The Mets will be in Miami for a three game set against the Marlins.