MLB on Sling TV: NLDS Game 3 Previews
Dodgers at Mets (8:37pm ET, TBS)
The Dodgers on Saturday rode Chase Utley’s dirty slide right through second base, Ruben Tejada’s right fibula and onto a 5-2 victory to even their series against the Mets at one game apiece.
Brett Anderson, who takes the ball for the Dodgers on Monday, was the very model of average in 2015, with a 10-9 record, 3.68 ERA, 1.3 WHiP and 2.52 SO/W ratio. Anderson has never in his career faced the Mets, but Curtis Granderson has a 1.128 in 13 plate appearances against him, and he’s held Michael Cuddyer to 1 hit in 12 at bats.
Celebrity pitcher Matt Harvey will get the start for the Mets, and will no doubt be tasked with avenging Tejada’s broken leg. Harvey has been brilliant at Citi Field over his short career, with a 2.05 ERA and 254 strikeouts in in 237 innings, but he’s been shaky against LA this year, giving up 5 runs on 13 hits and 6 walks in just 12 innings.
The Mets are likely to keep Harvey on a short leash, anyway, given all the hullaballoo around his innings count, so when the time comes for Harvey to leave the game, he can just throw a pitch at the Dodger of his choice and take a shower.
Taking over at short for Tejada will be Wilmer Flores, who started 103 games there this year anyway, but had benched after finished the season on a 2-for-25 skid. If you haven’t yet seen the famous clip of Flores from earlier this season, well, grab a hanky…
Cardinals at Cubs (6:07pm ET, TBS)
Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Cubbies will send the hottest pitcher in the universe to the mound, with an eye toward going up 2 games to 1 in their series against the Cardinals.
What Jake Arrieta has done since June 21 is bananas: 20 starts, 16-1, 147 innings, .86 ERA, 147 strikeouts and only 2 home runs. And in the Wild Card game, he was even better, pitching 9 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts and only 5 walks.
Michael Wacha gets the thankless job of starting for the Cardinals. Wacha burst onto the scene in 2013 as a 21-year-old late season addition to the rotation, posting a 1.72 ERA over his last 5 starts and then starting the playoffs by going 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA, before he and the Cards ran out of pixie dust in the World Series against the Red Sox.
Still, at just 23, Wacha is a seasoned playoff veteran who’s known success on the big stage, and he went 17-7 with a 3.38 ERA this year. But, man, going up against Arrieta doesn’t leave you with much margin for error.
All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
Watch the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Chicago Cubs at 4:07pm ET on TBS.
Watch the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the New York Mets at 6:37pm ET on TBS.