Paul H. Hale Blog: NLCS Game 4: Mets at Cubs, presented by GEICO

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

NLCS Game 4: Mets at Cubs, presented by GEICO

The Mets take a commanding 3-0 series lead into Game 4 of the NLCS against the Cubs on Wednesday at Wrigley Field at 8 p.m. on TBS.

Tonight’s Starting Lineups

Mets	Cubs
1. Curtis Granderson (L) RF	1. Dexter Fowler (S) CF
2. David Wright (R) 3B	2. Jorge Soler (R) RF
3. Daniel Murphy (L) 2B	3. Kris Bryant (R) 3B
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) CF	4. Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
5. Lucas Duda (L) 1B	5. Starlin Castro (R) 2B
6. Travis d’Arnaud (R) C	6. Kyle Schwarber (L) LF
7. Michael Conforto (L) LF	7. Javier Baez (R) SS
8. Wilmer Flores (R) SS	8. Jason Hammel (R) RHP
9. Steven Matz (R) LHP	9. David Ross (R) C

Tonight’s Pitching Matchup

Steven Matz: Matz has the second-fewest regular-season pitching starts in MLB history entering an LCS start (6). He was 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA in those six regular-season starts. In his first start this postseason, Matz allowed three runs over five innings in a 3-1 loss to the Dodgers.

Jason Hammel: Hammel has failed to complete five innings in three of his past five outings, going 2-1 with a 5.23 ERA over that span. He is 0-3 with a 4.91 ERA in five career starts against the Mets. In his Game 2 start in the NLDS against the Cardinals, he allowed two runs and walked three in only three plus innings of work.

Team Notes

Mets Notes: The Mets are one win shy of advancing to the World Series for the first time since 2000. Mets pitchers have posted a combined ERA of 1.67 through the first three games of the series. New York, who ranked last in the NL in stolen bases during the regular season, has five in the NLCS and eight overall in the postseason. Daniel Murphy’s six playoff home runs are a franchise record, and he’s batting .364 with nine RBIs and has scored nine runs while getting a hit in each of the Mets eight postseason games. He is 6-for-11 off Hammel while Curtis Granderson is 7-for-21 off him with two home runs and two doubles.

Cubs Notes: The Cubs, who trail the series 0-3, will try to become only the second team in MLB history to overcome such a deficit. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are a combined 4-for-21 in the NLCS. Kyle Schwarber, who hit his fifth postseason home run last night, is now one shy of the MLB rookie record.