5 Rapid Reactions to All the Early 2015 ALCS, NLCS Action
There is enough of a sample size to pass judgment.
The American League and National League Championship Series are both two games old, and both are somewhat surprisingly 2-0 in favor of the teams with home-field advantage. The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets are two wins away from heading to the 2015 World Series, but as the division series reminded us, you cannot count out the trailing teams.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs return home to try to climb back into their respective series, but through two games, the takeaways are not glowing for either club or some of their high-profile players. That makes their next three home games all the more critical, lest they want to head back on the road facing elimination.
Before we get there, though, here are five important conclusions based on the championship series to this point.
Daniel Murphy: Mets Playoff Legend
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Going into this postseason, Daniel Murphy was a slightly above-average offensive infielder a month away from free agency. And his team, the New York Mets, have no intentions of re-signing the 30-year-old, according to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, via Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors.
Never mind all that right now, because Murphy has shoved his way into New York playoff lore with his outstanding performance through seven postseason games this fall. He is hitting .357/.379/.929 with a 1.308 OPS.
He has also homered in each of his last four games, and he is one of only three players to have ever hit home runs off Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. The other two are Carlos Gonzalez and Giancarlo Stanton, according to ESPN Stats & Info. His five home runs are also tied for the second most through a player’s first seven postseason games, one behind Ken Griffey Jr. and Carlos Beltran, according to sportswriter Katie Sharp.
“I think Dan Murphy is an All-Star. So I don't think it's something that's strange,” Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters Saturday. “We all know when he gets hot, he can hit anybody, and he can do a lot of damage, and he's hot.”
A Regal Dynasty in the Making
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Doubt surrounded the Kansas City Royals during the last two postseasons, and it did at the start of this American League Championship Series. Based on numbers and recent history, the Toronto Blue Jays had the better offense and starting rotation.
Based on the last two games of the series, none of that matters because the Royals are again looking like destiny favors them and a second consecutive trip to the World Series.
“To win the first game was huge. To come back to win the second game was even bigger,” Royals manager Ned Yost told reporters Sunday. “But our focus again, and it's so boring, it's just day to day. I don't think anybody in that clubhouse—we celebrated yesterday, that was a big win for us. But that's over.”
The Royals have been here before. They’ve surprised. They’ve overcome. They’ve won elimination games. They’ve shown they can win with so-so starting pitching or little offense.
This franchise is finally benefiting from years of high draft picks—Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon—smart trades—Lorenzo Cain, Johnny Cueto, Wade Davis—and shrewd free-agent signings—Salvador Perez, Kendrys Morales, Ryan Madson.
All the waiting is finally paying off, and while the band might not completely stay together beyond this season, as are the tribulations of a smaller-market team, it's making the most of the situation while it is. And the Royals are doing it in an era when dynasties are getting harder and harder to come by considering nine different organizations have won World Series titles since 2001.
Cubs’ Cold Offense Not Helping Aces
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The Chicago Cubs owned arguably the most potent offense of this postseason through the division series round. Their lineup was deep and stacked with the kind of pop that could shift a series in the matter of a few hitters, which it did with 10 home runs and an .856 OPS against the St. Louis Cardinals.
However, the Cubs have managed just one homer through their first two games in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. While that is not a horrendous total, the offense as a whole has tallied 10 hits and 20 strikeouts while batting .159/.221/.238.
New York’s pitching has a lot to do with that. Game 2 starter Noah Syndergaard had a 98.4-mph average fastball, and Game 1 starter Matt Harvey averaged 95.2 mph, according to Brooks Baseball. And according to ESPN.com's David Schoenfield, the Cubs had the league’s worst average against fastballs of at least 94 mph. They were 1-for-13 against Harvey’s heat and 1-for-10 against Syndergaard’s.
That lack of offense has doomed the team’s top-of-the-rotation starters. Jon Lester pitched 6.2 innings in Game 1, but he allowed four runs on eight hits. In Sunday’s Game 2, ace Jake Arrieta looked nothing like he did in the regular season in allowing four runs in five innings to take his first loss since July 25.
Without much offensive punch and their front-line pitchers throwing like back-of the-line ones, the Cubs find themselves in trouble.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters in his postgame press conference Sunday:
"These two guys for them pitched really well. Absolutely, they did. We did not give up a lot of runs in return. I won't have any kind of huge speeches. I'm not into that kind of stuff. Our hitting coaches do a wonderful job of preparing our hitters and our hitters are good. Let's get back to Wrigley, get ready to play and see how it all turns out.
"
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David Price Again Puts Blue Jays in a Hole
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Acquiring David Price meant the Toronto Blue Jays had an ace to lead them into their first postseason since 1993, and he did. It also meant the Blue Jays had an ace to win them those huge October games en route to a World Series championship, but so far he has not.
Price has a 7.02 ERA in two postseason starts and one relief appearance. His last start, Saturday’s Game 2 against the Kansas City Royals, was moving along swimmingly until a botched pop-up led to complete disaster. Price ended up giving up five runs in 6.2 innings despite retiring 18 consecutive hitters through six innings.
“I don’t think I struggled,” Price told reporters. “It’s frustrating, but I didn’t struggle.”
That doesn’t matter much now. What does is that the Blue Jays go into Monday’s Game 3 at home in an 0-2 hole—one the team expected Price to help it avoid.
To this point, he has not, and his taking the ball for a second start in this series—he made only one in the AL Division Series despite starting Game 1 and the series going five games—is not a sure thing.
Future Is Now for Mets Rotation
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For years now, the New York Mets waited for their pitching prospects to sprout and eventually blossom. They are nearing full bloom this fall, and because of that, the Mets are on the cusp of their first World Series appearance since 2000.
Through seven starts, the starters have a postseason-best 2.74 ERA. Their 58 strikeouts in 42.2 innings are also tops in the playoffs, while their single home run allowed is another postseason best.
Now, up 2-0 in the National League Championship Series, the Mets give the ball to Jacob deGrom, arguably their best starter of the bunch.
Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters Sunday:
"Well, we've [sic] pretty much haven't hid the fact that we think we have pretty good pitching. They're young, they're inexperienced. They don't have the credentials that Kershaw and Greinke and Lester and Arrieta have, but they're going to be good pitchers. They're going to be really, really good, and we're really proud of as fast as they've come and the way they've handled themselves this summer.
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If the group of deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz continues to make the team proud during the fall, the Mets’ reward for stockpiling arms could soon be a National League pennant and possibly a World Series ring.
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