New York Mets Playoff Schedule, Starting Rotation Released For NLDS

The New York Mets playoff schedule is out and now the NLDS starting rotation is too. The New York Mets will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2015 MLB Playoffs, setting up some very interesting pitching match-ups. A report from CBS Sports states that Jacob deGrom has been tapped for Game 1 of the NLDS. Noah Syndergaard will start Game 2, and Matt Harvey will start Game 3 of the series.

Mets manager Terry Collins hasn’t indicated who would start Game 4 of the series, but Steven Matz will take the mound if he is healthy enough. If he is unable to take the mound, then the plan is to have deGrom pitch Game 4 and then have Syndergaard go in Game 5. That would put both starting pitchers out there on short rest, testing the depth of the rotation immediately.

The New York Mets’ playoff schedule begins on Friday, October 9, with Game 1 against the Los Angeles Dodgers taking place on the road. The Mets struggled to finish off the 2015 MLB regular season, losing the possibility of having home field advantage in the NLDS. The Dodgers finished strong, earning the right to host games 1, 2, and possibly 5 out in California.

NLDS Game 2 is on Saturday, October 10, in Los Angeles before the teams go to New York for Game 3 on Monday, October 12. If further games are needed, Game 4 would be in New York on Tuesday, October 13, and Game 5 would take place in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 15. All NLDS games will be broadcast on TBS.

The winner of the Mets vs. Dodgers series will advance to play in the National League Championship Series. Those games will begin on Saturday, October 17, with the team holding the higher seed in the NL getting home field advantage. For the Mets to host the NLCS, the team would need the wild card winner to knock off the St. Louis Cardinals in the other divisional series.

Fans might be a little surprised that Terry Collins is going with Noah Syndergaard to start Game 2 of the New York Mets’ playoff schedule. In his first season with the team, Syndergaard made 24 starts for the Mets, finishing with a 9-7 record. Syndergaard had a 3.24 ERA, 1.047 WHIP, and 166 strikeouts over 150 innings pitched. The numbers were impressive enough to win the support of Collins as the postseason begins.

Matt Harvey had a 2.71 ERA and 1.019 WHIP over 26 starts, and Jacob deGrom was 14-8 with a 2.60 ERA and 0.989 WHIP coming into Sunday’s games (October 4). Bartolo Colon was the other main part of the starting rotation, pitching in 32 games and posting a 4.18 ERA and 1.244 WHIP. Colon put up 193 2/3 innings to really help out the team, but he likely won’t make any postseason starts this year.

The Mets ended up winning the regular season series against the Dodgers 4-3. The team also out-scored the Dodgers 33-19 in those games, despite the great pitching from the opposition. During games 1 and 2 of the NLDS, the Dodgers will have Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw on the mound, with the likely plan of Don Mattingly to also use them in games 4 and 5 if necessary. It will mean that every hit the Mets hitters can scratch out will be important in the series.

Specific game times for the second-round playoff series will come out later on October 4, or early on October 5 for Mets and Dodgers fans to enjoy. The teams then get a bit of rest before taking the field for NLDS Game 1 on Friday, October 9. An official New York Mets playoff schedule will also be released to fans on the teams’ website at that point. With the match-up starting out on the West Coast, viewers should get prepared for some late start times in games 1 and 2.

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