NLDS Game 2: Dodgers @ Mets 1:4
All of a sudden, the Dodgers find themselves facing elimination once again from the first round of the playoffs.
The Mets, in their first postseason appearance since 2000, find themselves one victory away from going tot he league championship series.
The Mets will go for the sweep Saturday in Los Angeles against Greg Maddux, who has 333 career wins.
"We're in a tight spot," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "We've got to come out ready to win three in a row."
The Dodgers dropped to 1-11 in the postseason since winning the 1988 World Series.
They also lost Nomar Garciaparra in the sixth inning because of a leg injury -- he hobbled across first on an infield hit in the fourth. The All-Star first baseman has been playing with a strained left quadriceps. His status for Game 3 was uncertain.
Hong-Chih Kuo shut out the Mets for six innings on Sept. 8 at Shea in his only big league victory. That was one reason he got the start in this one. The Dodgers also figured a lefty might have success against New York's lineup -- the Mets struggled down the stretch vs. left-handed starters.
But this time, New York fouled off many of Kuo's tough pitches and chased him in the fifth.
"He was tough again," Randolph said. "We just made him pitch a little bit. We had some at-bats where we taxed him a little bit."
The good teams adapt. The Dodgers didn't adapt.
Glavine was at his deceptive best -- changing speeds, nipping the corners and escaping jams. With runners at first and third in the fifth, he got Kenny Lofton on an inning-ending grounder, then calmly handed Lofton's shattered stick to a Dodgers bat boy.
"It was the wrong guy for us to face," Dodgers slugger Jeff Kent said. "A lot of pitches just off the plate, and you get frustrated."
Glavine, who beat Los Angeles twice during the regular season, gave up only four hits in his first playoff win since 2001 with Atlanta. After making the playoffs year after year with the Braves, he improved to 13-15 in the postseason with a 3.34 ERA.
Wilson Betemit homered for the Dodgers in the eighth.
Mets manager, Willie Randolph mentioned before the game that the Mets needed to have a more patient approach against Kuo this time, and they forced him to throw 51 pitches in the second and third innings alone.
Garciaparra's infield single with one out in the fourth was the first hit off Glavine. Garciaparra didn't even run out a grounder in the sixth, and was removed before the bottom half.
Why he was even left in is beyond me. Yes, he's a gamer. But this was a playoff game, and once again Little showed that he didn't have any balls.
The Mets, in their first postseason appearance since 2000, find themselves one victory away from going tot he league championship series.
The Mets will go for the sweep Saturday in Los Angeles against Greg Maddux, who has 333 career wins.
"We're in a tight spot," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "We've got to come out ready to win three in a row."
The Dodgers dropped to 1-11 in the postseason since winning the 1988 World Series.
They also lost Nomar Garciaparra in the sixth inning because of a leg injury -- he hobbled across first on an infield hit in the fourth. The All-Star first baseman has been playing with a strained left quadriceps. His status for Game 3 was uncertain.
Hong-Chih Kuo shut out the Mets for six innings on Sept. 8 at Shea in his only big league victory. That was one reason he got the start in this one. The Dodgers also figured a lefty might have success against New York's lineup -- the Mets struggled down the stretch vs. left-handed starters.
But this time, New York fouled off many of Kuo's tough pitches and chased him in the fifth.
"He was tough again," Randolph said. "We just made him pitch a little bit. We had some at-bats where we taxed him a little bit."
The good teams adapt. The Dodgers didn't adapt.
Glavine was at his deceptive best -- changing speeds, nipping the corners and escaping jams. With runners at first and third in the fifth, he got Kenny Lofton on an inning-ending grounder, then calmly handed Lofton's shattered stick to a Dodgers bat boy.
"It was the wrong guy for us to face," Dodgers slugger Jeff Kent said. "A lot of pitches just off the plate, and you get frustrated."
Glavine, who beat Los Angeles twice during the regular season, gave up only four hits in his first playoff win since 2001 with Atlanta. After making the playoffs year after year with the Braves, he improved to 13-15 in the postseason with a 3.34 ERA.
Wilson Betemit homered for the Dodgers in the eighth.
Mets manager, Willie Randolph mentioned before the game that the Mets needed to have a more patient approach against Kuo this time, and they forced him to throw 51 pitches in the second and third innings alone.
Garciaparra's infield single with one out in the fourth was the first hit off Glavine. Garciaparra didn't even run out a grounder in the sixth, and was removed before the bottom half.
Why he was even left in is beyond me. Yes, he's a gamer. But this was a playoff game, and once again Little showed that he didn't have any balls.
posted by Blue Man | 11:15 AM
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