1988 NLCS Game 5

With the series tied at two games apiece, this game was pivotal for both teams and had some wild moments.  The Dodgers sent Game two loser, Tim Belcher to the mound against the Mets Sid Fernandez who hadn't been heard from yet this series.  Belcher had good stuff in the bullpen and brought it into the game.

The Dodgers got 1 in the first, 1 in the third, and 3 in the 4th to chase El Sid from the game after only 3.2 innings.  It looked at that point like the Dodgers would run away with this one, but New York came back to make a game of this one.

The Mets got two on for Darryl Strawberry in the bottom of the 5th and the Straw Man responded with a big three run homer to bring the game within two.  Rick Aguilera and Terry Leach would hold the Dodgers scoreless for 3.1 innings in relief of Fernandez.  Ricky Horton would relieve Tim Belcher after the Dodgers starter was pinch hit for in the top of the 7th.  Horton would pitch a scoreless 7th for the Dodgers.

The Mets would bring in Roger McDowell to start the 8th and Rodger held the Dodgers in check.  Horton would start the bottom of the 8th for the Dodgers, but would give way to Brian Holton after giving up a leadoff single.  Holton would give up a double to Kevin McReynolds giving the Mets runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out.  Holton would then proceed to balk on two consecutive pitches to Gary Carter to tie the game.  Bolton would get out of the 8th without giving up any more runs.

The Mets left Roger McDowell out to start the ninth and that looked to be a bad decision as McDowell gave the lead right back to the Dodgers allowing 2 runs in the 9th.  The Dodgers would bring in  Jay Howell to close the game, but Howell gave up a pinch hit double to Mookie Wilson to bring the tying run to the plate.  The Mets were unable to capitalize, however, and the Dodger went on to win 7-5.

Brian Holton got the vulture win after blowing the save and Roger McDowell took the loss.  Jay Howell got the last three outs for the save.  The surprise offensive star for the Dodgers was Alfredo Griffin who went 3 for 4 with a run scored, 2 RBI, a walk, and a double.  Darryl Strawberry also had three hits for the Mets including the three run homer.  Gregg Jefferies had four hits for New York to lead both teams.  The Mets outhit the Dodgers 14-12 and hit the games only homer, but the Dodgers drew nine walks to none for the Mets.

Tim Leary will try to close out the series for the Dodgers in Game Six versus David Cone and the Mets.  Davey Johnson has said he'll make some changes to his lineup in hopes of changing the Mets fortunes in Los Angeles.  He also commented on the one sided umpiring of Game 5 which will surely earn him a fine - a fine he'll happily play if his team can force a Game 7.

Dodgers 7, Mets 5 Monday, October 10, 1988 Dodgers (3-2) Mets (2-3) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Sax 2b 5 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 0 .091 Dykstra cf 5 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 .071 Hatcher 1b 6 0 1 0 0 2 8 1 0 5 .125 Jefferies 3b 5 1 4 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 .500 Gibson lf 3 3 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 .389 Hernandez 1b 5 0 1 0 0 1 8 1 0 2 .136 Marshall rf 3 1 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 .235 Strawberry rf 4 2 3 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .368 Shelby cf 3 1 1 2 2 2 3 1 0 0 .412 McReynolds lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .350 Dempsey c 2 0 1 2 2 0 10 2 0 0 .500 Carter c 4 0 1 0 0 2 12 0 0 0 .263 Scioscia ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267 Johnson ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 0 .438 Hamilton 3b 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 7 .105 Backman 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 .353 Griffin ss 4 1 3 2 1 1 2 4 0 0 .389 Fernandez p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Belcher p 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Aguilera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000 Stubbs ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .375 Magadan ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 Horton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Leach p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Holton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Sasser ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Heep ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 McDowell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 Howell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Wilson ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 35 7 12 7 9 9 27 10 0 13 Totals 39 5 14 3 0 9 27 13 0 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dodgers 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 7 12 0 Mets 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 5 14 0 LOB- Dodgers 13, Mets 7; 2B- Dempsey(1), Griffin(1), McReynolds(2), Wilson(1); HR- Strawberry(2); RBI- Dempsey 2(2), Griffin 2(2), Marshall(7), Shelby 2(2), Strawberry 3(5); SH- Belcher 2(2); GIDP- Johnson(1); RLSP- Hamilton 5, Hatcher 3, McReynolds 2; DP- Dodgers 2, Mets 1; Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Belcher 6.0 9 3 3 0 6 1 7.71 Horton(H,1) 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 20.25 Holton(W 1-0) (BS,1) 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 0 3.38 Howell(S, 2) 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 10.13 Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Fernandez 3.2 5 5 5 7 5 0 12.27 Aguilera 1.1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 Leach 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 McDowell(L 0-1) 2.0 4 2 2 1 2 0 6.75 Inherited runners-scored- Holton, Aguilera 3-1; Batters faced- Belcher 26, Horton 5, Holton 4, Howell 4, Fernandez 23, Aguilera 6, Leach 7, McDowell 11; HBP- Gibson(by Fernandez);

1988 NLCS Game 4

Game 4 saw the Dodgers desperately needing a win to tie the series up at 2 games apiece, while the Mets looked to take a commanding 3-1 lead.  Neither team generated much offense in this game, but there was plenty of excitement.

The two teams were scoreless over the first five games.  John Tudor was magnificent for the Dodgers and Dwight Gooden was also up to the task despite having poor stuff.  Tudor was rarely even in trouble and Dwight had to escape a few jams, but was always up to the task.

The sixth inning, though, would prove to be Doc's downfall.  He gave up a double to Gibson and Marshall followed that with his third homer of the series.  Ultimately that would be all the scoring the Dodgers would need in this one, but just to be safe Los Angeles scored another run in the seventh with Alfredo Griffin hitting a one out single, followed by a Tudor bunt moving him into scoring position.  Steve Sax got a clutch two out double to knock in Griffin for the insurance run.

John Tudor was without a doubt the star of this game going the distance and allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out three batters.  Dwight Gooden gutted out a strong performance allowing just the two runs in 6 innings and picked up the tough luck loss.  The only player with multiple hits in this game was Kirk Gibson who had two doubles for the Dodgers.

Game 5 is in New York after which the action will move back to Los Angeles for at least a Game 6.  Game five's starters will be Tim Belcher for LA and Sid Fernandez for the Mets.  Belcher is looking to rebound from a shelling that occurred in Game 2 while Fernandez is making his first appearance in the fall classic.

Dodgers 3, Mets 0 Sunday, October 9, 1988 Dodgers (2-2) Mets (2-2) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Sax 2b 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 .118 Wilson cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .385 Hatcher 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 1 .100 Jefferies 3b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 .412 Gibson lf 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .400 Hernandez 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 0 1 .118 Marshall rf 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 .214 Strawberry rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .267 Shelby cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 .429 McReynolds lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .375 Scioscia c 4 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 .214 Carter c 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 .267 Hamilton 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 1 .071 Teufel 2b 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 .000 Griffin ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 .286 Elster ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 2 .000 Tudor p 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 .000 Johnson ph ss 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .583 Gooden p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 Mazzilli ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 McDowell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Backman ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .385 Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 34 3 8 3 0 3 27 12 0 6 Totals 29 0 3 0 1 3 27 9 0 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - - Dodgers 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 8 0 Mets 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 LOB- Dodgers 6, Mets 3; 2B- Gibson 2(2), Sax(1); HR- Marshall(3); RBI- Marshall 2(6), Sax(1); SH- Tudor(1); GIDP- Hernandez(1); RLSP- Hatcher, Shelby, Elster; DP- Dodgers 1; Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Tudor(W 1-0) 9.0 3 0 0 1 3 0 0.00 Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Gooden(L 0-2) 6.0 6 2 2 0 2 1 4.15 McDowell 2.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 4.50 Myers 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Batters faced- Tudor 30, Gooden 24, McDowell 8, Myers 4; HBP- Hamilton(by Myers);

1988 NLCS Game 3

The series shifted to the Big Apple with both teams tied at 1 game apiece.  The Dodgers gave the ball to Orel Hershiser to get them back on the winning track and the Mets are responded with Ron Darling to keep their momentum going.

The Mets struck quickly plating a run in the bottom of the first.  They got two more in the third, but then both teams settled down.  The score was still 3-0 in the top of the 8th when the Dodgers pinch hit for Hershiser, but were unable to score.  The Mets tallied four runs in the bottom of the 8th off two Dodger relievers.  Darling completed the shutout with a trouble free ninth.

Ron Darling was the hero of the game with the complete game, four hit shutout.  He even got a hit and scored a run.  The offensive star was Mookie Wilson.  The Mets centerfielder had three hits including a homer, scored three runs, and knocked in three.  Howard Johnson also homered for the Mets.  Kirk Gibson was the only Dodger able to generate any real offense against Darling.  Gibbson had two hits and stole a base.

The Dodgers are starting mid-season acquisition John Tudor who went 10-8 between St. Louis and LA while the Mets respond with their ace Doc Gooden - their Game 1 starter.  The Mets are hoping a fully rested bullpen will play to their advantage since the game is being played without an off day.

Mets 7, Dodgers 0 Saturday, October 8, 1988 Dodgers (1-2) Mets (2-1) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Sax 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 .077 Wilson cf 5 3 3 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 .444 Hatcher 1b 3 0 0 0 1 0 10 0 0 1 .167 Jefferies 3b 4 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 .462 Gibson lf 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .364 Hernandez 1b 5 0 1 1 0 2 8 0 0 1 .154 Marshall rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 .200 Strawberry rf 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 .333 Shelby cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 McReynolds lf 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 .385 Scioscia c 3 0 0 0 0 1 7 1 0 1 .200 Johnson ss 3 1 2 2 1 0 3 4 0 2 .636 Hamilton 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 .000 Carter c 4 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 0 3 .333 Griffin ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0 0 .300 Backman 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 .417 Davis ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Darling p 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 .333 Sharperson ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hershiser p 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 .000 Heep ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Howell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 Orosco p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 30 0 4 0 1 6 24 14 1 4 Totals 35 7 12 7 3 5 27 8 1 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - Dodgers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 Mets 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 7 12 1 FE- Hershiser(1); TE- Darling(1); LOB- Dodgers 4, Mets 8; HR- Johnson(1), Wilson(1); RBI- Hernandez(3), Jefferies(4), Johnson 2(3), Wilson 3(3); SB- Gibson(1); SH- Darling(1); GIDP- Heep(1); RLSP- Marshall, Scioscia, Carter 2, Hernandez, Johnson, McReynolds; DP- Mets 1; Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Hershiser(L 1-1) 7.0 8 3 3 2 4 1 3.00 Howell 0.2 2 3 3 1 0 1 16.20 Orosco 0.1 2 1 1 0 1 0 135.00 Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Darling(W 1-0) 9.0 4 0 0 1 6 0 0.00 Inherited runners-scored- Orosco; Batters faced- Hershiser 31, Howell 5, Orosco 3, Darling 31;

1998 NLCS Game 2

The Dodgers were eager to grab a 2-0 series lead vs the Mets and started 26 year old, twelve game winner vs David Cone who went 20-3.  The Mets faithful were nervous when the Dodgers jumped to a 2-1 first inning lead, but they had nothing to fear as the Mets scored in each of the first four innings, but really erupted when they put eleven runs on three Dodger relievers.

David Cone wasn't on top of his game giving up four runs in six plus innings, but with 16 runs to work with, he easily picked up the win.  Rick Aguilera came in to get the last nine outs and the three inning save.

It's difficult to pick a single offensive star for the Mets since they rapped 21 hits including two doubles and three homers, but 20 year old rookie, Gregg Jefferies came up very big.  He had three runs, three hits and three RBI.  Jefferies also had two homers.  Jefferies was one of five Mets with at least three hits.  Darryl Strawberry led the way with four hits including the other Mets homer and one of their doubles.  Every starter had at least 1 RBI.  Lenny Dykstra was the only Met in a bad mood after this one after taking an 0 for 7.

The Dodgers pitching was obviously poor, but their offense wasn't too great either.  The bright spot for LA was the continued good play of Mike Marshall.  The rightfielder hit a homer for the second consecutive game.  Franklin Stubbs also homered for the Dodgers.  Mike Scioscia and Alfredo Griffin each had two hits.

The teams fly across the country to meet on October 8 in New York.  The Mets are starting 17 game winner Ron Darling and the Dodgers are looking to curb the Mets momentum by going back to the Bulldog, Orel Hershiser, in Game 3.

Mets 16, Dodgers 4 Wednesday, October 5, 1988 Mets (1-1) Dodgers (1-1) Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave Player AB R H BI BB SO P A E LOB Ave ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- ------ -- - - -- -- -- - - - --- --- Dykstra cf 7 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 .000 Sax 2b 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 0 .000 Jefferies 3b 5 3 3 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .444 Hatcher 1b 2 1 1 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 .333 Hernandez 1b 5 2 1 1 1 1 5 0 0 3 .125 Orosco p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Strawberry rf 5 4 4 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 .500 Horton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 McReynolds lf 6 1 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 .300 Holton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Johnson ss 4 3 3 1 2 0 0 3 0 0 .625 Davis ph lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Carter c 5 1 2 3 0 1 12 0 0 2 .500 Gibson lf 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 .286 Backman 2b 5 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 .500 Pena p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Cone p 5 1 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 2 .400 Marshall rf 3 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 .333 Aguilera p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Shelby cf 3 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 .714 Scioscia c 4 0 2 0 0 1 9 0 0 1 .286 Hamilton 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 3 .000 Griffin ss 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 .375 Belcher p 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 .000 Leary p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Stubbs ph 1b 3 1 1 2 0 0 5 0 0 0 .429 -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- - - -- -- -- -- -- -- --- Totals 48 16 21 15 5 6 27 5 0 12 Totals 34 4 8 4 2 9 27 12 1 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mets 1 1 1 2 0 11 0 0 0 16 21 0 Dodgers 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 8 1 FE- Griffin(1); LOB- Mets 12, Dodgers 6; 2B- McReynolds(1), Strawberry(1); HR- Jefferies 2(2), Strawberry(1), Marshall(2), Stubbs(1); RBI- Backman 2(3), Carter 3(3), Cone(1), Dykstra(1), Hernandez(2), Jefferies 3(3), Johnson(1), McReynolds(1), Strawberry 2(2), Marshall 2(4), Stubbs 2(3); SF- Carter(1); GIDP- Stubbs(1); RLSP- Carter, Cone, Dykstra 2, Hernandez 2, Hamilton; DP- Mets 1; Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Cone(W 1-0) 6.0 6 4 4 2 7 2 6.00 Aguilera(S, 1) 3.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 Dodgers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Belcher(L 0-1) 3.1 9 5 5 3 2 2 13.50 Leary 1.2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 Orosco 0.0 3 4 4 1 0 1 0.00 Horton 0.1 4 6 2 0 0 0 54.00 Holton 1.2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0.00 Pena 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Inherited runners-scored- Leary, Horton 2-2, Holton 3-3; Batters faced- Cone 27, Aguilera 10, Belcher 22, Leary 7, Orosco 4, Horton 7, Holton 8, Pena 7; HBP- Strawberry(by Horton), Hatcher(by Cone);