Watch CBS News

Schwei's Mets Notes: Postseason Debuts, DeGrom Ties Record And More

By John Schweibacher
» More Columns

The New York Mets return to Citi Field for Games 3 and 4 of their NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers after splitting the first two games of the best-of-five series.

The Mets will likely add shortstop Matt Reynolds to the postseason roster after losing Ruben Tejada, who suffered a broken right fibula on Chase Utley's controversial takeout slide in the seventh inning of Game 2. Reynolds, who has not appeared in a game in the majors, hit .267 with six home runs and 65 RBIs in 115 games for Triple-A Las Vegas this season.

Here are the fewest career regular-season games played by position players before appearing in the postseason for the Mets in club history:

Kevin Elster: 19 (1986)
Timo Perez: 24 (2000)
Duffy Dyer: 30 (1969)
Anderson Hernandez: 31 (2006)
Gregg Jefferies: 35 (1988)
Ron Hodges: 45 (1973)
George Theodore: 45 (1973)

Noah Syndergaard took the loss in Game 2, charged with three runs in 6 1/3 innings. Syndergaard became the third rookie in franchise history to start a postseason game, something Steven Matz is scheduled to do in Game 4. None of the three Mets rookie pitchers were able to get wins in their postseason debut:

Noah Syndergaard: 10/10/15 at LA, NLDS Game 2 (Lost 5-2)
John Maine: 10/4/06 vs. LA, NLDS Game 1 (ND; 6-5 Mets win)
Gary Gentry: 10/6/69 vs. Atl, NLCS Game 3 (ND; 7-4 Mets win)

Daniel Murphy hit a solo home run off Clayton Kershaw in the fourth inning in his first postseason game Friday night in Game 1, and Michael Conforto did the same against Zack Greinke in the second inning Saturday night in Game 2. Only Carlos Delgado and Edgardo Alfonzo had homered in their first postseason game in team history:

Edgardo Alfonzo: 10/5/99 at Arz vs. Randy Johnson (solo in 1st) and vs. Bobby Chouinard (three-run in 9th)
Carlos Delgado: 10/4/06 vs. L.A. vs. Derek Lowe (solo in 4th)
Daniel Muprhy: 10/9/15 at L.A. vs. Clayton Kershaw (solo in 4th)
Michael Conforto: 10/10/15 at L.A. vs. Zack Greinke (solo in 2nd)

Jacob deGrom struck out 13 over seven scoreless innings to get the win as the Mets defeated the Dodgers 3-1 on Friday night to take a 1-0 lead. The 13 Ks matched the Mets' all-time postseason record.

Most Strikeouts By Mets Pitcher In Postseason Game:

13: Jacob deGrom at L.A., Game 1 NLDS 10/9/15
13: Tom Seaver at Cin, Game 1 NLCS 10/6/73
12: Tom Seaver vs. Oak, Game 4 World Series 10/16/73
10: Dwight Gooden at L.A., Game 1 NLCS 10/4/88

Jeurys Familia recorded a four-out save to close out Game 1. It was the fifth save of more than three outs in the club's postseason history:

10/9/15: Jeurys Familia at L.A., NLDS Game 1 -- 1 1/3 IP
10/27/86: Jesse Orosco vs. Bos, World Series Game 7 -- 2 IP
10/22/86: Jesse Orosco at Bos, World Series Game 4 -- 1 1/3 IP
10/18/73: Tug McGraw vs. Oak, World Series Game 5 -- 2 2/3 IP
10/14/69: Nolan Ryan vs. Bal, World Series Game 3 --2 1/3 IP

Happy Recap: The Mets are now 44-32 all-time in postseason games after going 1-1 in LA. The .579 winning percentage is the third-best in MLB history, trailing the Marlins .667 (22-11) and Yankees .595 (223-155) among teams that have played at least 30 postseason games.

Nine Miles of Rough Road: Tejada's injury Saturday night was to the same leg he broke two years ago in a collision with left fielder Andrew Brown in a game against the Giants at Citi Field on September 18, 2013.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.