deGrom And Mets Dominate Phillies In 1 Hit Effort

GAME RECAP: Mets Silence Phillies 5-0

The Mets arrived in Philadelphia closer in the National League East standings to the fourth-place Phillies than the first-place Nationals, desperate for a series win. Jacob deGrom delivered just that in a 5-0 win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies' lone hit came off the bat of deGrom's counterpart, Zach Eflin, who ripped a single up the middle in the third. But for the eight batters prior and 19 batters after, deGrom didn't allow another base knock. He became the first Mets pitcher to toss a one-hit shutout since R.A. Dickey struck out 13 Orioles on June 18, 2012. Before Sunday, there had been four one-hit shutouts in which the opposing pitcher had the only hit in Mets history. The most recent also came against Philadelphia, when Cole Hamels singled off Dickey in a 1-0 Mets win on Aug. 13, 2010. "Probably since we came out of Spring Training [deGrom has been building to this]," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "There was all that concern about his velocity early, but he's just gotten a little stronger and a little stronger. … You saw better command today and probably the best sinker he had all year." It was the first time the Phillies have been held to one hit since Sept. 15, 2015, when the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg silenced them with 14 strikeouts. deGrom didn't quite match Strasburg, punching out seven Phillies, but flirted with a Greg Maddux -- a complete game on fewer than 100 pitches -- ultimately recording his first career complete game on 105 pitches. "Command of his pitches, changed speeds, worked fast, he did everything you want your pitchers to do," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of deGrom. Mackanin opened the second half by remarking that his team is shooting for an NL Wild Card spot, but the series loss to the Mets drops them seven back in that race. "It's gonna be important," Collins said. "We know going to Chicago, it's going to be a dogfight there. Same thing in Miami. … Just continue on."

PHILS PHACTS:

• Eflin, the Phillies' rookie right-hander, had his fifth straight quality start on Sunday, giving up three runs on five hits in six innings. The five hits were the most Eflin has allowed since his forgettable MLB debut in Toronto (eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings), and three of those hits went for extra bases. Eflin limited the damage by getting Neil Walker to ground out with the bases loaded to end the fifth. "He didn't have his 'A' game, but he gave us a chance to win," Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp said. "He was a little bit up in the zone, fell behind some hitters, and when he went up 0-2, he couldn't put them away."
• Phillies All-Star Odubel Herrera has enjoyed success this season while facing the Marlins, batting .364 (8-for-23).
• Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton is just 1-for-18 (.056) with a home run and 12 strikeouts this season against the Phillies. Lifetime at Citizens Bank Park, he has 10 homers in 39 games.
• The Marlins gave center fielder Marcell Ozuna a breather on Sunday at St. Louis. Ozuna, who started for the NL in the All-Star Game, has two home runs and four RBIs vs. Philadelphia.

NEXT GAME:

Positioning in the National League East is at stake when the Marlins open a four-game series at the Phillies on Monday at Citizens Bank Park. Miami is in the thick of the NL Wild Card race and aiming to gain ground on the division-leading Nationals, while Philadelphia hopes to climb into Wild Card contention. The Marlins will turn to ace Jose Fernandez to kick off the four-game set. The Phillies counter with promising right-hander Aaron Nola, who will make just his second start of the month. Fernandez, starting for the first time since Tuesday's All-Star Game, has been among the hottest pitchers in the NL. In his last 11 starts, the hard-throwing right-hander is 8-2 with a 1.71 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings. Nola, who last pitched on July 2 against the Royals, is 0-4 since his last win on June 5. At home, he is 2-6 with a 5.28 ERA.

PHILS PHACTS:

Resuscitated Quality Start – Zach Eflin had a good idea of Jacob deGrom's mindset Sunday. "Outings like that, they feed off momentum," said Eflin, who threw a complete game against the Braves earlier in the month. Eflin was the only Phillie that was able to disrupt deGrom in their 5-0 loss to the Mets on Sunday. The 22-year-old's third-inning single was his team's only hit of the afternoon, as deGrom was dominant in his first career complete game. Eflin, meanwhile, could not find his groove, but he didn't let that stop him from turning in his fifth consecutive quality start. The Phillies' right-hander made his fair share of mistakes -- leaving balls up in the zone and not finishing once he got ahead in counts. But Eflin never allowed more than one run in an inning, yielding three earned on five hits in six frames. "I think I did a good job of limiting the damage when I needed to, but I know I left some balls up that shouldn't have been up," he said. "I didn't have my best stuff today, but I was able to battle." Eflin now has a 2.56 ERA in his last six starts following a lousy debut in which he gave up eight earned runs to the Blue Jays in 2 2/3 innings on June 14. The five hits he allowed on Sunday were the most since his debut, and Eflin struggled both when he was up in the count and when there were two outs. Three of the Mets' five hits off Eflin were RBI extra-base hits with two outs. Juan Lagares got the scoring started with an RBI triple in the second, and Curtis Granderson made it 2-0 with a towering solo homer in the third. Both hitters turned 0-2 counts into full counts before driving in a run. "He made some mistakes," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Eflin. "One of the things we have to address as a group is when we get hitters 0-2 or get ahead of hitters, we have to be able to put them away. We were having trouble doing that. The 0-2 count to Granderson went to 3-2, and he hit a home run off a mistake up in the zone." A Jose Reyes double made it 3-0 in the fifth inning, and Eflin followed it with back-to-back walks. A loss of command is rare for the rookie, who had given just two free passes in his previous 27 innings entering Sunday. But with the bases loaded, Eflin buckled down and got Neil Walker to ground out to end the threat. Eflin went back out and threw a 1-2-3 sixth inning to ensure a quality start. Eflin was not the star or his best self on Sunday, but he still showed why the Phillies hope he can be part of the rotation for the foreseeable future. "He's 22 years old in his first year at the big league level, and I really like him," Mackanin said. "He has a great future ahead of him. ... He made a few more mistakes than he probably should have, but he pitched a quality start."

I Got It! – Neil Walker popped up in the fourth inning of the Mets' 5-0 win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon, sending the ball floating in between third base and shortstop. So, both Maikel Franco and Freddy Galvis went for it. But which one of them caught it? They're so accomplished at mimicking each other that it's nearly impossible to tell which one of them actually intended to reel in the ball. Franco, because he looked more at the ready? Or Galvis, who could've been sandbagging? Well, you have a 50-50 shot at guessing. This isn't a trick question, either. One of them caught it, and Walker was retired for the first out of the inning. The answer... Galvis, very casually. But honestly, it could've gone either way.

Today In Phils History – Despite surrendering 21 hits, the Phillies pulled off an 11 inning win over the Cubs in 1912 when Gavvy Cravath stole home as part of a double steal. A decade later, 11 year old Bob “Tuffy Reds” Cotter caught a foul ball and kept it rather than throwing it back which was common practice at the time resulting in him being arrests and sent to jail from which he was freed the next morning by a judge who stated that he was “following his most natural instincts” resulting in the Phillies becoming the 1^st team with an official policy allowing fans to keep foul balls. In 1943, The Giants and Phillies strand a combined 30 base runners to set a new MLB record. In the 2^nd game of a double header against St. Louis in 1954, the Phillies took a 8-1 lead in the 5^th when the Cardinals began stalling in the hopes of preventing the game from becoming official before the Sunday curfew which was frowned upon by the umpires who declared the game a Phillies victory by forfeit. Despite being in 1^st place at the time, Phillies GM Paul “The Pope” Owens fired Pat Corrales and took over the managerial duties, for the 2^nd time, for the remainder of the 1983 season.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 43-50 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 49-61-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record.

Will The Real Johnny Cueto Please Stand Up!

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

When the Royals traded for Johnny Cueto just before the deadline in July, this is the pitcher that they were hoping to see take the mound. After a close contest on Tuesday night, the Mets looked out of place in game 2 heading back to Queens in a 2-0 deficit. However, Mets fans should take note that their team has been here before having lost game 1 by one run and game 2 by six runs back in 1986 before eventually capturing the title. With that said, Cueto looks to be performing like Bret Saberhagen did in the 1985 World Series and Royals fans know what that means. So, basically, while the Royals have the advantage the series is still up in the air.  

Royals Dominate Mets 7-1

Now that's the Johnny Cueto who Royals fans have come to love, at least the one who pitches like an unhittable demon at Kauffman Stadium. Cueto certainly was Johnny B. Goode, two-hitting the Mets over nine innings as the Royals roared to a 7-1 win on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series. His complete game was the first by an American League pitcher in the Fall Classic since Jack Morris went 10 innings for the Twins in Game 7 in 1991, and the first by a Royal in the World Series since Bret Saberhagen in Game 7 in '85. Much like Cueto overwhelmed the Astros at Kauffman Stadium in Game 5 of the AL Division Series, when he retired the last 19 batters he faced, the right-hander dominated the Mets while retiring 16 of the last 17. "I want to thank God for this opportunity and this outcome," said Cueto, the first pitcher from the Dominican Republic to throw a complete game in the World Series. "And it's a lot of pride being able to do what I did out there today and to do it for all of the Dominican." "Tonight was everything we expected Johnny to be," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "He was on the attack. He kept the ball down. He changed speeds. It was just a spectacular performance by him." Cueto gave up two softly hit singles to Lucas Duda while going the distance, walking three and striking out four. Kansas City is just two wins from its first World Series title in 30 years. "He's been good here at home, but you could tell he was locked in those first couple innings," Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said of Cueto. "When he was missing spots, he wasn't out over over the plate. It was either a hair off in or out. He was electric tonight." Hosmer, who won Tuesday's 14-inning Game 1 showdown with a sacrifice fly, again delivered the knockout punch, a two-run single in the fifth that put the Royals up for good at 3-1. Red-hot Alcides Escobar, who had an inside-the-park-homer in Game 1, had two more hits, including an RBI triple. "He wasn't going to go back out there in the ninth until we got three runs in the eighth," said Yost of Cueto. "We were glad we put up those runs so he could back and finish the job." The Series now shifts to New York for three games starting Friday. Teams up 2-0 in the World Series have gone on to win it 42 of 53 times (79.2 percent). Teams that have won the first two games of a World Series at home have gone on to win 31 of 38 times (81.6 percent). Of the 13 teams (20.8 percent) that overcame a 2-0 deficit to win the Series, 10 lost Games 1 and 2 on the road. "We know it's going to be loud in New York," Royals outfielder Alex Rios said. "But it was loud in Toronto, and it was loud in Houston. It's going to be loud no matter where we go." Jacob deGrom started for the Mets and breezed through three no-hit innings. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, but got hit around in Kansas City's four-run fifth. The right-hander exited after five innings having given up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out two. "They did exactly what people said, and they put the ball in play," Mets manager Terry Collins said of the Royals, who finished with 10 hits. "I told Jake, 'Not everything has to be a strike. You've got to move it around. You've got to change speeds, give them something to look at. If you continue to pound the strike zone, they're going to put it in play.' And that's what they did." "He's a great pitcher," Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas said of deGrom. "We're putting the ball in play all night and just weren't catching any breaks. We kept battling throughout the game, and then caught a break."

POSTSEASON PREDICTIONS: Read my post from October 6^th to see how many I have gotten wrong!

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

World Series

Kansas City leads Series 2-0

Kansas City at New York

Game 3: Friday, October 30, at 8:00 PM

PHILS PHACTS:

Was There Even A Question? – After an epic, 14-inning Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday, to say that the Mets and Royals are evenly matched would be an understatement. Both teams notched 11 hits and committed one error in the game, which the Royals won, 5-4, on Eric Hosmer's walk-off sacrifice fly. And if that wasn't enough to prove just how perfectly these teams match up, here comes a report that mascots representing both franchises were named to "Good Morning America's" list of the best mascots in baseball. Host Lara Spencer and Co. braved the cold in New York on Tuesday to reveal the list of baseball's best mascots on Tuesday. Holding down the No. 5 spot was Mrs. Met, who was on hand for the presentation of the list. Royals' mascot Sluggerrr came in at No. 4, but the top mascot in all the land according to "Good Morning America" is... The Phillie Phanatic. And it's easy to see why when all the Phanatic does is dress like he's in GQ, dance like no one's watching, and give back to the community. On Tuesday afternoon, the Phanatic got all dressed up and made an appearance at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to host a Halloween party for kids battling cancer and other serious illnesses. 

Giving Back In The Off Season – Not all children have the opportunity to dress up and go trick-or-treating on Halloween, especially those receiving treatment at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. For the past 23 years, the Phillies and Embassy Suites Hotel have been teaming up to bring an early Halloween treat to the patients and, this year, a new meaning to Halloween for one of their families. On Oct. 25, nearly 160 CHOP patients and their families were treated to a special Phillie Phanatic Ghostbusters-themed Halloween Bash. For mother Jaclyn Savery, who was waiting in line for balloon creations with her sons Grayson, 5, and Aydan, 6, this event was extra special. "Grayson was actually diagnosed on Halloween 2012," Savery said. "So Halloween for us, historically, isn't a very good date, and something like this, where we can add fun and excitement, adds a positive twist to a very dark day for us." Fun for the kids could be found all around the room. As families entered the Liberty Ballroom at the Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport, they were greeted with music and dancing, clowns, face painting, arts and crafts, and later in the afternoon, a special Ghostbusters dance performance. Former Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene and broadcaster Scott Franzke attended the party, signing autographs and taking pictures with young fans, while the Phillie Phanatic, along with his mom Phoebe and Phillies Ballgirls, danced the day away with the kids. Sweet treats were available everywhere the children went, including fully-stocked candy for trick-or-treating, mini cakes and assorted goodies, and a life-like Phanatic cake, complete with a Ghostbusters suit and proton pack. Also available were kid-friendly snacks like chicken fingers, pizza, and smiley fries. Grayson and Aydan, dressed as green and red ninjas, respectively, enjoyed all of the perks of the party. They decorated pumpkins, raided the candy table, made balloon creations (a skeleton for Grayson and ninja swords for Aydan), and loved the Phanatic. "This is the first year he is not in treatment, so we were like, 'Let's live again, let's make Halloween fun,'" Savery added. "This event means so much for these kids. There's no chemo, no treatment, no hospital; they can just be a normal, typical child, and that's priceless." Maureen Mason, director of event fundraising and community partnerships at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, shared a similar sentiment on the Halloween Bash. "The whole family gets to come and do something that doesn't have to do with getting chemotherapy or radiation," Mason said. "When cancer affects a child, it really affects the entire family. It's great for the family to do something where the main focus is fun." Mason has been a part of planning this event for a long time alongside Phillies community outreach coordinator Kelly Yurgin, who has been involved with the Halloween Bash since 1994. The event, which originated as a player initiative with former Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini called "Mickey's MVPs," has since grown tremendously. "No matter what, it has always been such a great party in the end," Yurgin said. "Whether it is for 80 people or close to 200, when it's all said and done, all that matters is seeing the patients in treatment have a day of normalcy -- to just have fun and be kids."

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, there are some former Phillies still making headlines in the playoffs this year.

Royals And Mets On The Brink

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

Well, didn’t see this one coming. Following their dominant offensive display (and a shocking performance by Chris Young) the Royals are one win away from playing in their second consecutive World Series. The Mets find themselves in the same position as the Royals up 3-0 over the sentimental favorite Cubs. Pitching has been the overwhelming obstacle for the young Chicago squad but only time will tell… Boston can attest to that. However, the most important thing that both of these current underdogs need to realize is that it is going to take more than two runs to win a game!  

Royals Obliterate Blue Jays 14-2

The Royals are one win from going to the World Series for the second consecutive year after putting a stranglehold on the American League Championship Series with another victory over the Blue Jays. Ben Zobrist and Alex Rios homered for Kansas City, which scored early and often for a 14-2 victory in Game 4 at Rogers Centre on Tuesday. With a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Royals have a chance to clinch the AL pennant with a victory in Game 5 on Wednesday. "We've still got work to do," Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said. "This feels good, but we know how good that team is over there." The Blue Jays once again have their backs against the wall and will have to win three games in a row to advance. Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven Championship Series are 29-7 all-time, so Kansas City is clearly in the driver's seat, but Toronto can at least fall back on the fact that it rallied from an 0-2 deficit to beat Texas in the AL Division Series. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey was responsible for putting the Blue Jays in the early hole. He allowed four runs in the first inning, including a two-run homer by Zobrist, and another in the second before he was pulled after recording just five total outs. Dickey departed with a five-run deficit, and Toronto never recovered. "This team is a really good team," Dickey said of the Royals. "They spit on a lot of good knuckleballs, and they hit the ones that were a little bit flatter. Two singles and two home runs, and I'm out of the game -- it happened really quickly. This is, like, my 103rd start with the Blue Jays, and this is the first time I've gone this short, so it was the anomaly for sure, but it was a poor time to have the anomaly." Kansas City right-hander Chris Young came within one out of picking up the second postseason victory of his career, but he was pulled with two outs in the fifth. He allowed two runs on three hits and a pair of walks while striking out four. The only real sign of difficulty Young encountered was in the fourth, when he surrendered an RBI double to Josh Donaldson. Royals manager Ned Yost is feeling pretty good about where his team is. "We feel good about it," Yost said. "I felt great going into this game because we had Chris Young on the mound, and I felt he would give us a really, really good performance. "We like the way we're playing right now. Our offense has been really, really good. We have [Edinson] Volquez coming back tomorrow, our defense is always spectacular and our bullpen is primed to go tomorrow, too. "We didn't have to use Wade [Davis]. We have Danny Duffy if we need him for multiple innings tomorrow. Kelvin [Herrera] and [Ryan] Madson had short stints today, so they'll be ready to go tomorrow, and so will [Luke Hochevar]. We're in really good shape." But Young cautioned that they can't get too giddy yet. "We haven't won anything yet," Young said. "Toronto is such a good team. We have to come back and play hard and play our game tomorrow."

Mets Tame Cubs 5-2

In this old ballpark where even the outfield ivy has taken on a role, the weight of history is now on the Mets' side. Their 5-2 win over the Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday at Wrigley Field gave them a 3-0 series lead, moving the Mets to within one victory of their fifth NL pennant and their first World Series appearance since 2000. "That clubhouse right now, that's all they're talking about is tomorrow," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "They know what they're facing." What the Mets are facing is a Cubs team backed into one of Wrigley's quirky corners, knowing only one Major League team has ever come back from a 3-0, best-of-seven series deficit in 34 attempts. They also know that the architect of that club, the 2004 Red Sox, was none other than Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein. "Of course you think about those things, you think about the parallels, think about the fact that that happened against a New York team," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "We think about all that stuff, but it's up to us to go out and play and execute. I put all my stock in the fact that I know our guys are going to be ready to play tomorrow." Maddon's hope is that the Cubs can rip apart history in much the same way the Mets have done this month. Before this series, Collins' club had not beaten the Cubs all year. Until Game 3, they had not won at Wrigley since May 19, 2013. They overcame that last part behind second baseman Daniel Murphy, who matched an MLB record by homering in his fifth consecutive postseason game, and starting pitcher Jacob deGrom, who overcame a rocky first inning to move to 3-0 this October. Aside from solo homers to Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler, deGrom was everything the Mets needed him to be. Along the way, the Cubs made multiple defensive mistakes, including a Soler blunder in the sixth that allowed a Wilmer Flores double to scoot into the ivy. Though that play wound up being a positive break for the Cubs, who could not parlay it into a comeback, other mistakes cost them dearly. Chief among those was a Trevor Cahill wild pitch that allowed Yoenis Cespedes to score the go-ahead run on Michael Conforto's sixth-inning strikeout. "I think we're all very aware of how close we are, and at the same time, we're not taking it for granted because they are a very, very good team -- a very explosive team -- that can blow up at any time," Conforto said. "We're not taking them lightly. We're going to show up the same way tomorrow that we have the last three games." By the ninth, a light rain had begun falling on Chicago's North Side, as Jeurys Familia locked down the final three outs for his franchise-record fifth postseason save. "There's no excuses to what happened today," Schwarber said. "They just played better than we did. Now we've got our backs against the wall, but we're going to keep fighting until the end."

POSTSEASON PREDICTIONS: Read my post from October 6^th to see how many I have gotten wrong!

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

National League Championship Series

New York leads series 3-0

Game 4: Wednesday, October 21, at 8:00 PM

American League Championship Series

Kansas City leads series 3-1

Game 5: Wednesday, October 21, at 4:00 PM

PHILS PHACTS:

A Closer Look At Nick Williams – Background: For what seemed to be an eternity, the baseball world wondered when the Philadelphia Phillies would trade their perceived greatest asset, Cole Hamels, in an effort to rebuild the franchise with younger players carrying lengthy team control. On July 31 this season, the Phillies transformed their franchise by sending the star left-hander Hamels and hard-throwing lefty reliever Jake Diekman to the pitching starved Texas Rangers. Both pitchers are among the reasons the Rangers made it to the playoffs as the American League West champions. But the other end of the deal may have changed the Phillies for years to come. Prospects Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Alec Asher, Jerad Eickhoff, Nick Williams and veteran Matt Harrison offer a boatload of talent. The trade was stunning and far-reaching. One of the component players in the transaction was Williams, a left-handed outfielder with a bag full of tools. He's 22. The 6-foot-3, 195 pound Williams has a well-proportioned athletic frame. The Rangers selected him in the second round of the 2012 Draft out of Ball High School in Galveston, Texas. After parts of four Minor League seasons, Williams is No. 3 on the Phillies' Top 30 Prospects list. Hitting: Williams is still a work in progress. He has been inconsistent in his approach and results until this past season. He hit a combined .303 playing for Double-A Frisco for the Rangers (.299 in 415 plate appearances) and .320 over 100 plate appearances at Double-A Reading in the Phillies' organization. I first saw Williams when he played for Surprise in the 2014 Arizona Fall League. He hit .277 with two homers and a solid 19 RBIs in his 27 autumn games. Williams is an aggressive hitter with a very quick bat. That excellent bat speed helps him drive the ball and allows him to generate power from his strong body. Using the entire field, Williams is a solid gap hitter with emerging home run power. Defense: Considered an average outfielder by most, Williams is known more for his hitting and power upside than his fielding. He has played all three outfield positions, but I project his best position to be left field. He looks and reacts more comfortably in that role. Strengths: Whenever I watch Williams play, his power and his good foot speed are evident. His outstanding bat speed forms the foundation of his overall hitting mechanics. He has a fluid swing and can punish a fastball. Weaknesses: Recently I have seen his highly aggressive approach become reduced a bit. That's a good thing. This year, his splits against right- and left-handed pitching were a bit troubling. He hit .a very solid .330 against right-handed pitching, but only .210 vs. lefties. In 2014, his splits were close to equal, both being above .275. I find this interesting: Williams is still a raw player. He is gaining momentum and learning more about his game as he continues his development. Williams is a player who could ultimately hit .300 with 25 home runs if he continues his current progress. But risk remains that he won't consistently harness his abilities. The future for Williams: There is risk involved in going out a limb with Williams. He has such great upside that the Phillies will likely give him every opportunity to be an offensive force in their hitter-friendly home park. I can see him arriving in late 2016. His bat speed and the power in his athletic body are real. Can he translate upside to reality? Williams in a word: Explosive.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, there are some former Phillies still making headlines in the playoffs this year.

Murphy Proves To Be Greinke’s Kryptonite

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

The NLCS Matchup was finalized last night thanks to Jacob deGrom putting up another solid performance and Daniel Murphy having probably his best game of the season if not his career. Those where the two players that lifted the Mets to victory over the heavily favored Dodgers who had 2015 Cy Young candidate, and previous winner, Zack Greinke on the mound. With the victory, the Mets will now face the Cubs who are equally young and equally talented. The first postseason matchup between the teams should be a series to remember.   

Mets Eliminate Dodgers 6-3

The carpet in Dodger Stadium's visiting clubhouse was soaked so thoroughly that a pool formed in the center of it. Mets players ditched their spikes and eventually even their shower sandals, wading through the beer-soaked muck in bright blue socks. They gathered around at one point as pitcher Jon Niese, with a running start, slid on his belly along the length of the puddle. The Mets were celebrating. Again. Their Daniel Murphy-fueled 3-2 win over the Dodgers in Game 5 gave them a National League Division Series victory, clinching their date in the NL Championship Series, which begins Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, TBS) against the Cubs at Citi Field. They donned goggles and sprayed champagne for the second time in three weeks. "This champagne tastes even sweeter having gone through what we've been through as an organization these last nine years," third baseman David Wright said, referring to the Mets' last NLCS appearance in 2006. "This city, this fan base, the guys that put this uniform on, it's very rewarding to be here now, having experienced everything we've experienced." Four years after the Dodgers attempted to trade for him, Murphy slugged his third home run of the series and stole a critical base, propelling the Mets to victory in the best-of-five series. It was their third win in six winner-take-all games, while the Dodgers lost a sudden-death game for the first time in Los Angeles history (4-1) and are now 5-4 in franchise history. "We came into a five-game series and you saw [Clayton] Kershaw twice and [Zack] Greinke twice," said manager Terry Collins, whose team beat both of the Dodgers' top two starters. "That may not be fair. But we'll take what we got. We got the wins that we needed, and we're going to go party for a little while, and take a day off and get ready for the NLCS. And it will be a lot of fun." Murphy homered off Game 2 winner Greinke with one out in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie, after doubling in New York's first-inning run. He then singled and added a heads-up steal of third base when the Dodgers' defense fell asleep while shifted, en route to scoring the second run in the fourth inning. "For the entire ballclub, this is unbelievable," Murphy said. "This is such a lot of hard work. From the top of the organization to the bottom, from what [general manager] Sandy [Alderson] was able to give us at the Trade Deadline to the way guys have played, everybody has gotten a piece of this at some point. That's what makes it so special." On the home run, Greinke worked out of the windup until the crucial 3-2 pitch, which he delivered out of the stretch, and Murphy lined it into the right-field box seats. Murphy hit .333 with five RBIs in the series. The Dodgers, who led the league in home runs, were outhomered by the Mets in the series, 7-2. "I was trying to do something different," Greinke said. "I did [it] earlier on [Lucas] Duda and it worked. But it didn't work that time. I was pitching good out of the stretch, so I felt confident both ways. If he was seeing something from me in the windup, I wanted to switch it up." Game 1 winner Jacob deGrom was the winning pitcher for New York, even though he was so shaky early that Collins had starter Noah Syndergaard warming up in the second inning. deGrom lasted six innings with seven strikeouts, and he was relieved by Syndergaard and then Jeurys Familia, who pitched two innings for the save. "If he didn't show you tonight, he had command of nothing, and all he did was battle and battle and battle to give you six innings," Collins said of deGrom. "It's unbelievable. I don't know. There were four times in the game he was one hit away from coming out of the game. Ended up giving us six innings, so I'm real proud of him." The Dodgers had runners in scoring position in each of the first five innings, but they went 2-for-13 in those at-bats, scoring twice in the first inning on consecutive singles by Corey Seager, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner and Andre Ethier. With runners in scoring position, the Dodgers struck out six times and grounded into a double play. "That always scares you in a game, and you hope it doesn't come back to haunt you later in the game that if you leave some runs out there that we had a chance to get," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of the wasted chances. Turner, the former Met, continued to be the toughest out, adding two more doubles to bring his franchise record for the series to six, plus a single. He hit .526 in the series.

POSTSEASON PREDICTIONS: Read my post from October 6^th to see how many I have gotten wrong!

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

National League Championship Series

Chicago at New York

Game 1: Saturday, October 17, at 7:30 PM

American League Championship Series

Toronto at Kansas City

Game 1: Friday, October 16, at 7:30 PM

PHILS PHACTS:

A Lot To Prove In 2016 – The morning after the Phillies traded Chase Utley in August, and shortly before he boarded a flight to join his new Dodgers teammates in Houston, the iconic Phillies second baseman sat in the clubhouse one final time to sign a few bats for people. A short time later, his locker was empty. Cody Asche lost his clubhouse neighbor that day, and he also lost one of his biggest supporters. Utley, like many inside the Phillies' organization, had an affinity for Asche, and it seems everybody wants him to succeed. They hope it happens next season because it might be Asche's final opportunity to prove himself in Philadelphia. Asche hit .245 with 22 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 39 RBIs and a .689 OPS in 456 plate appearances this season. If he had enough plate appearances to qualify, he would have ranked 121st out of 143 players in OPS. "If you're not improving in this game, it's kind of a loss," Asche said on the final day of the season. "It's always a goal as a player to improve every single day. You can sit and say what you are, and who you think you are, but until you do it, it's really just talk. It's going to be a long offseason for me. I just have to stay disciplined to make sure I'm doing everything I can to get better. "It's just the overall consistency of at-bats. The best hitters don't have those 10 to 12 at-bat lapses, where you kind of look lost. I think I have the ability to be a good hitter. It just comes down to being disciplined on a daily basis, being disciplined in every at-bat and every game over a long season." If Maikel Franco never existed, Asche would still be at third base, and the Phillies could afford to be more patient with him. But Franco established himself as the team's everyday third baseman, which forced Asche to the outfield. And the Phillies' outfield is getting more and more crowded. Odubel Herrera is the team's center fielder, following a strong rookie season. Aaron Altherr has earned a longer look with a combined 71 extra-base hits this year, including 20 in 161 plate appearances with the Phillies. In fact, Altherr's performance and potential probably will have Domonic Brown playing elsewhere next year. Top prospects Nick Williams and Roman Quinn could open next season in Triple-A, which means they could be in the big leagues at some point in 2016. The Phillies also figure to resign Jeff Francoeur or sign another veteran outfielder. That means if Asche is in Clearwater, Fla., in February for Spring Training, he will need to produce. "That's an unanswered question," Asche said, when asked if he knows where he stands entering the offseason. "I really think the answer lies within myself, and how I come out and play in Spring Training. It's up to me to take advantage and force my way back into the lineup."

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances this season, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, there are some former Phillies still making headlines in the playoffs this year.

Key Hits And Big Pitching Performances

YESTERDAY IN POSTSEASON PLAY:

A full slate of division series games made for a long and busy day for baseball. In the AL, the Rangers find themselves in a surprising position and the Royals fought back to even the series. The NL series’ opened up with two fantastic pitching matchups as the Cardinals won the battle of former rotation mates as John Lackey shutout the Cubs and Jon Lester and the Mets, behind blossoming ace Jacob deGrom, prevailed over perennial Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers. Tomorrow should be an interesting day in the NL as teams look to take the advantage or fight back to even the series.  

Rangers Outlast Blue Jays 6-4

The place was sold out and the atmosphere was electric, but the hometown fervor at Rogers Centre couldn't stop the Rangers from riding a 6-4 victory over the Blue Jays in 14 innings to a 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series on Friday afternoon. The best-of-five ALDS resumes on Sunday night in Arlington, and the Rangers need one more victory to advance to the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2011. Since Division Series play began in 1995, teams that have gone up 2-0 have advanced 42 of 47 times.

Royals Edge Astros 5-4

Ben Zobrist singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning off Astros reliever Will Harris, scoring Alcides Escobar, and the Royals' bullpen tossed three scoreless innings in a pulsating 5-4 win on Friday at Kauffman Stadium as Kansas City evened the American League Division Series at 1-1. The Royals were the first home team to win this postseason, as the road teams won the first five games. The only other time that the road team won the first five games of a postseason was 1906.

Cardinals Shutout Cubs 4-0

Facing their archrivals from Chicago for the first time in postseason history, the Cardinals, behind the experienced postseason arm of John Lackey and a late rookie power surge, nabbed a 4-0 win over the Cubs at Busch Stadium on Friday to open their best-of-five National League Division Series. Lackey outdueled good friend Jon Lester to boost the Cardinals to an early series lead that has proven pivotal in DS play. Of the 40 teams to win the first game of the NLDS, 36 have gone on to advance to the NL Championship Series.

Mets Down Dodgers 3-1

The roar from the Mets' postgame clubhouse was audible through a concrete wall, seeming to threaten Dodger Stadium's very foundation. The Mets had just upended the Dodgers, 3-1, in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, behind seven shutout innings from Jacob deGrom and key hits by David Wright and Daniel Murphy. In doing so, they had beaten Clayton Kershaw and grabbed home-field advantage back from their hosts -- proving that they are not, as a reporter suggested to general manager Sandy Alderson last month, simply "happy to be here."

POSTSEASON PREDICTIONS: Read my post from October 6^th to see how many I have gotten wrong!

CURRENT POSTSEASON PICTURE:

American League Division Series

Kansas City and Houston tied 1-1

Game 3: Sunday, October 11, at 4:00 PM

Texas leads series 2-0

Game 3: Sunday, October 11, at 8:00 PM

National League Division Series

St. Louis leads series 1-0

Game 2: Saturday, October 10, at 5:37 PM

New York leads series 1-0

Game 2: Saturday, October 10, at 9:00 PM

PHILS PHACTS:

GM Search Underway – Andy MacPhail has said it would be ambitious to hire a new general manager before the end of the month, but it remains his goal. The incoming president seems to be making progress. MacPhail interviewed his first candidate last month, and according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, MacPhail has at least two more interviews scheduled. One is with Major League Baseball vice president of baseball operations Kim Ng, who has worked in front offices with the Yankees, Dodgers and White Sox. The other is with Indians vice president of player personnel Ross Atkins. The club has not confirmed the report. Former Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest already has interviewed. Ng is highly regarded in baseball. If hired, she would become the first female GM in baseball history.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances this season, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! All time, the Phillies are 0-2-0 on this day.