The New York Mets took a 1-0 lead in the National League Championship Series by defeating the Chicago Cubs 4-2 on Saturday night behind another dominant outing from starting pitcher Matt Harvey.
The 26-year-old displayed tremendous poise on the NLCS stage, striking out nine while tossing 97 pitches over 7.2 innings. Harvey allowed just four hits on a night when the Cubs couldn't find consistency at the plate and left 10 runners on base.
Jeurys Familia delivered a four-out save after Harvey departed, but the win wouldn't have materialized if the Mets hadn't received some clutch contributions from key hitters.
Curtis Granderson faced a 0-2 count in the fifth inning with the game knotted at 1-1, and the Mets right fielder came through with a two-out RBI single to give New York a 2-1 lead. The timely showing was particularly impressive because Granderson tied for the 10th-lowest batting average in the majors when down 0-2 in the count during the regular season, per ESPN Stats & Info.
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman added that Granderson—who batted .389 with five RBI in the National League Division Series—might be the most impressive player donning blue and orange right now:
Travis d'Arnaud tacked on a mammoth 436-foot home run to center field that gave the Mets some breathing room before Granderson added a sacrifice fly to score Juan Lagares in the seventh inning.
Cubs starter Jon Lester was solid, scattering eight hits over 6.2 innings, but he wasn't disciplined enough to keep the Mets in check, allowing all four of the team's earned runs.
Daniel Murphy opened the scoring for the Mets with a solo blast, and for a while, it appeared that was all of the run support Harvey would need.
Murphy has now homered in three straight games—including blasts off Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Murphy became the first Mets player since 1969 to homer in three consecutive games after his early shot to right.
Harvey was perfect through four, but the Cubs finally got on the board in the fifth after New York's ace plunked Anthony Rizzo and gave up an RBI double to Starlin Castro moments later.
With the exception of the fifth inning and a solo shot from Kyle Schwarber in the eighth, Chicago's offense was largely stymied. However, it is worth noting Schwarber tied the franchise record for home runs in a postseason (four) by blasting Harvey's offering 461 feet, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Moving forward, productivity at the plate has to be a concern for the Cubs, who finished the regular season tied for 13th in the National League with a cumulative batting average of .244.
The Mets are set to send ace Noah Syndergaard to the mound for Game 2, and manager Terry Collins has no qualms about pitching the 23-year-old after he came on in Game 5 of the NLDS and pitched an inning of relief.
"He's got no stiffness, no soreness anywhere," Collins said Saturday, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. "He said he wants to pitch and we want him out there."
Chicago has depended on home runs throughout the postseason, so the pressure will be on Game 2 starter Jake Arrieta to silence the Mets' bats and put his team in position to remain competitive Sunday evening.
Post-Game Reaction
Harvey told reporters he "really wanted to start things off the right way," per ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin, and outfielder Michael Cuddyer noted the Dark Knight came out with stellar stuff, according to DiComo:
DiComo also passed along praise from third baseman David Wright, who was thrilled with the Citi Field faithful:
According to ESPNChicago.com's Jesse Rogers, Castro explained why he didn't bust out of the box on his double in the fifth inning:
"It's a seven game series," Schwarber said, per MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. "We've got time, we don't have to panic. They beat us today. It happens."
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