LOS ANGELES -- Daniel Murphy just hoped no one was watching.
Murphy shocked the sleeping Dodgers by stealing an uncovered third base and went on to score the tying run. Two innings later, Murphy hit a go-ahead homer off Zack Greinke that led the New York Mets over Los Angeles 3-2 Thursday night and into an NL Championship Series matchup with the Chicago Cubs.
After getting past ace pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Greinke, the Mets will try to reach the World Series for the first time since 2000.
"Something doesn't go right, and we bounce back," said the Mets' Terry Collins, managing in the postseason for the first time at age 66. "We've done it all year long. Tremendous heart."
New York and pitcher Jacob deGrom trailed 2-1 in the fourth inning of the decisive Game 5 of their NL Division Series when the Dodgers shifted three infielders to the right side and left no one near third with left-handed Lucas Duda at the plate. When Duda walked on a 3-1 pitch, Murphy jogged to second and suddenly sprinted to third.
Rookie shortstop Corey Seager, the closest infielder, was almost all the way toward second.
"You've got to give a peek and hope that nobody calls timeout, because then I go sprinting to third base and somebody calls timeout, I look like a buffoon," Murphy said.
No worries. He made it without a throw and scored on Travis d'Arnaud's sacrifice fly.
"An incredible play and a game-changer for us," Mets captain David Wright said.
Murphy had just two steals during the regular season.
"I'm not fleet afoot," he said, "but I was just fast enough to be able to get in there and make it."
Murphy's opposite-field RBI double in the first drove in the game's first run. Murphy homered in the sixth for a 3-2 lead, driving a 93 mph pitch about a dozen rows into the right-field seats.
Murphy, who had three hits, batted .333 in the series and homered three times off Greinke and Kershaw. He can be a free agent after the season ends.
"Daniel was a tough out all series," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He's always to me been a guy that's been a tough out, pretty much hits everybody's fastball."
DeGrom (2-0), the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year, struck out seven and walked three to earn his second road win of the series.
He allowed four straight singles in the first, when Justin Turner and Andre Ethier drove in runs for a 2-1 lead. Fellow starter Noah Syndergaard started warming up as early as the second inning, and deGrom pitched his only 1-2-3 inning in the sixth.
"I think I was a little amped up, and I just tried to make my pitches," deGrom said.
Syndergaard threw a hitless seventh in the rookie's first big league relief appearance, and Jeurys Familia was perfect in the first six-out save of his big career.
Familia retired pinch-hitter Chase Utley -- who earned the Mets' wrath after his takeout slide broke shortstop Ruben Tejada's leg in Game 2 -- on a flyout leading off the ninth.
After Familia struck out Howie Kendrick to end the game, the Mets swarmed the mound, jumping up and down in unison. They quickly donned black T-shirts and exchanged hugs and high-fives while a small group of orange and blue-clad fans shouted, "Let's go Mets!," the only noise in a stadium that emptied quickly.
"What a team win," Murphy said. "It felt like everybody got a piece of this one."
Greinke (1-1) gave up three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander, who led the majors with a 1.66 ERA, struck out nine and walked one. He could opt out after the season ends and as a free agent would likely command even bigger bucks than the guaranteed $71 million left on his contract.
"I was pitching good, I was feeling confident," Greinke said. "I decided to challenge him. Looking back at it, it was the wrong decision."
New York quickly will turn its attention to the Cubs. The NLCS, which starts Saturday night at Citi Field, is the first postseason meeting between the teams. Matt Harvey will start Game 1 for the Mets against Jon Lester.
Playing on the 27th anniversary of Kirk Gibson's World Series home run, Los Angeles failed to come up with a big drive, going 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position after Ethier's first-inning single.
"There are really no words to describe how you feel right now," said Mattingly, who could be out of a job after this latest postseason failure.
Despite a record $289 million payroll, the Dodgers remained without a World Series title since 1988.
"We have a good team here," first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. "We just need to keep working at it."
Los Angeles failed to capitalize with two runners on in both the second and third. After Turner doubled leading off the third, Ethier popped out to left.
Ethier returned to the dugout and began yelling at Mattingly while walking away from him. Mattingly followed, and twice Ethier turned toward Mattingly and yelled at him while gesturing angrily with his arms, pointing twice at the field and twice directly at Mattingly.
"There was nothing there other than he was mad about the ump's call," Mattingly said. "I was trying to settle him down."
Turner had a pair of doubles, giving him a franchise playoff-record six in one series. But the Dodgers' fell to 4-1 in elimination playoff games since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.
New York will be in the NLCS for the first time since 2006, when the Mets swept the Dodgers in the Division Series.
"Back in 2006, it was a little less stressful because we ended up sweeping them," Wright said. "So this is probably more gratifying and sweeter, just because we went through the pitchers we did to get to this point."
Murphy shocked the sleeping Dodgers by stealing an uncovered third base and went on to score the tying run. Two innings later, Murphy hit a go-ahead homer off Zack Greinke that led the New York Mets over Los Angeles 3-2 Thursday night and into an NL Championship Series matchup with the Chicago Cubs.
After getting past ace pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Greinke, the Mets will try to reach the World Series for the first time since 2000.
"Something doesn't go right, and we bounce back," said the Mets' Terry Collins, managing in the postseason for the first time at age 66. "We've done it all year long. Tremendous heart."
New York and pitcher Jacob deGrom trailed 2-1 in the fourth inning of the decisive Game 5 of their NL Division Series when the Dodgers shifted three infielders to the right side and left no one near third with left-handed Lucas Duda at the plate. When Duda walked on a 3-1 pitch, Murphy jogged to second and suddenly sprinted to third.
Rookie shortstop Corey Seager, the closest infielder, was almost all the way toward second.
"You've got to give a peek and hope that nobody calls timeout, because then I go sprinting to third base and somebody calls timeout, I look like a buffoon," Murphy said.
No worries. He made it without a throw and scored on Travis d'Arnaud's sacrifice fly.
"An incredible play and a game-changer for us," Mets captain David Wright said.
Murphy had just two steals during the regular season.
"I'm not fleet afoot," he said, "but I was just fast enough to be able to get in there and make it."
Murphy's opposite-field RBI double in the first drove in the game's first run. Murphy homered in the sixth for a 3-2 lead, driving a 93 mph pitch about a dozen rows into the right-field seats.
Murphy, who had three hits, batted .333 in the series and homered three times off Greinke and Kershaw. He can be a free agent after the season ends.
"Daniel was a tough out all series," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He's always to me been a guy that's been a tough out, pretty much hits everybody's fastball."
DeGrom (2-0), the 2014 NL Rookie of the Year, struck out seven and walked three to earn his second road win of the series.
He allowed four straight singles in the first, when Justin Turner and Andre Ethier drove in runs for a 2-1 lead. Fellow starter Noah Syndergaard started warming up as early as the second inning, and deGrom pitched his only 1-2-3 inning in the sixth.
"I think I was a little amped up, and I just tried to make my pitches," deGrom said.
Syndergaard threw a hitless seventh in the rookie's first big league relief appearance, and Jeurys Familia was perfect in the first six-out save of his big career.
Familia retired pinch-hitter Chase Utley -- who earned the Mets' wrath after his takeout slide broke shortstop Ruben Tejada's leg in Game 2 -- on a flyout leading off the ninth.
After Familia struck out Howie Kendrick to end the game, the Mets swarmed the mound, jumping up and down in unison. They quickly donned black T-shirts and exchanged hugs and high-fives while a small group of orange and blue-clad fans shouted, "Let's go Mets!," the only noise in a stadium that emptied quickly.
"What a team win," Murphy said. "It felt like everybody got a piece of this one."
Greinke (1-1) gave up three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander, who led the majors with a 1.66 ERA, struck out nine and walked one. He could opt out after the season ends and as a free agent would likely command even bigger bucks than the guaranteed $71 million left on his contract.
"I was pitching good, I was feeling confident," Greinke said. "I decided to challenge him. Looking back at it, it was the wrong decision."
New York quickly will turn its attention to the Cubs. The NLCS, which starts Saturday night at Citi Field, is the first postseason meeting between the teams. Matt Harvey will start Game 1 for the Mets against Jon Lester.
Playing on the 27th anniversary of Kirk Gibson's World Series home run, Los Angeles failed to come up with a big drive, going 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position after Ethier's first-inning single.
"There are really no words to describe how you feel right now," said Mattingly, who could be out of a job after this latest postseason failure.
Despite a record $289 million payroll, the Dodgers remained without a World Series title since 1988.
"We have a good team here," first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. "We just need to keep working at it."
Los Angeles failed to capitalize with two runners on in both the second and third. After Turner doubled leading off the third, Ethier popped out to left.
Ethier returned to the dugout and began yelling at Mattingly while walking away from him. Mattingly followed, and twice Ethier turned toward Mattingly and yelled at him while gesturing angrily with his arms, pointing twice at the field and twice directly at Mattingly.
"There was nothing there other than he was mad about the ump's call," Mattingly said. "I was trying to settle him down."
Turner had a pair of doubles, giving him a franchise playoff-record six in one series. But the Dodgers' fell to 4-1 in elimination playoff games since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.
New York will be in the NLCS for the first time since 2006, when the Mets swept the Dodgers in the Division Series.
"Back in 2006, it was a little less stressful because we ended up sweeping them," Wright said. "So this is probably more gratifying and sweeter, just because we went through the pitchers we did to get to this point."
8:00PM,EDT,October 15,2015
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| New York - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Zack Greinke pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| Granderson reached on infield single to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Wright struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Murphy doubled to deep center, Granderson scored, Murphy to third on error by left fielder Hernández. | 1 | 0 |
| Céspedes struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Duda struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Kendrick lined out to first. | 1 | 0 |
| Seager singled to shallow left. | 1 | 0 |
| Gonzalez singled to right, Seager to third. | 1 | 0 |
| Turner singled to right, Seager scored, Gonzalez to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Ethier singled to shallow left center, Gonzalez scored, Turner to second. | 1 | 2 |
| Grandal struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| Hernández struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Zack Greinke pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| d'Arnaud struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| Conforto flied out to right. | 1 | 2 |
| Flores struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Pederson walked. | 1 | 2 |
| Greinke sacrificed to first, Pederson to second. | 1 | 2 |
| Kendrick safe at first on throwing error by shortstop Flores. | 1 | 2 |
| Seager struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| Gonzalez struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Zack Greinke pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| deGrom grounded out to second. | 1 | 2 |
| Granderson grounded out to first. | 1 | 2 |
| Wright struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Turner doubled to shallow left. | 1 | 2 |
| Ethier lined out to left. | 1 | 2 |
| Turner stole third. | 1 | 2 |
| Grandal walked. | 1 | 2 |
| Hernández grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first, Grandal out at second. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Zack Greinke pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| Murphy singled to right. | 1 | 2 |
| Céspedes flied out to center. | 1 | 2 |
| Duda walked, Murphy to second. | 1 | 2 |
| Murphy stole third. | 1 | 2 |
| d'Arnaud hit sacrifice fly to right, Murphy scored. | 2 | 2 |
| Conforto grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Duda out at second. | 2 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Pederson walked. | 2 | 2 |
| Greinke sacrificed to first, Pederson to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Kendrick flied out to center, Pederson to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Seager struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Zack Greinke pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| Flores struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| deGrom popped out to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Granderson flied out to left. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Gonzalez struck out swinging. | 2 | 2 |
| Turner doubled to center. | 2 | 2 |
| Ethier popped out to shortstop. | 2 | 2 |
| Grandal struck out looking. | 2 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Zack Greinke pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| Wright fouled out to right. | 2 | 2 |
| Murphy homered to right (394 feet). | 3 | 2 |
| Céspedes struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| Duda struck out looking. | 3 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jacob deGrom pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Hernández grounded out to second. | 3 | 2 |
| Pederson popped out to third. | 3 | 2 |
| Greinke lined out to right. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Zack Greinke pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| d'Arnaud grounded out to first. | 3 | 2 |
| Conforto grounded out to pitcher. | 3 | 2 |
| Flores singled to center. | 3 | 2 |
| Johnson hit for deGrom. | 3 | 2 |
| Johnson reached on infield single to second, Flores to second. | 3 | 2 |
| Avilán relieved Greinke. | 3 | 2 |
| Granderson flied out to left. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Noah Syndergaard pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Céspedes in left field. | 3 | 2 |
| Lagares in center field. | 3 | 2 |
| Syndergaard relieved deGrom. | 3 | 2 |
| Kendrick grounded out to pitcher. | 3 | 2 |
| Seager struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| Gonzalez walked. | 3 | 2 |
| Turner struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Chris Hatcher pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| Hatcher relieved Avilán. | 3 | 2 |
| Wright lined out to second. | 3 | 2 |
| Murphy grounded out to second. | 3 | 2 |
| Céspedes struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Jeurys Familia pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Familia relieved Syndergaard. | 3 | 2 |
| Ethier grounded out to pitcher. | 3 | 2 |
| Crawford hit for Grandal. | 3 | 2 |
| Crawford lined out to left. | 3 | 2 |
| Rollins hit for Hernández. | 3 | 2 |
| Rollins grounded out to first. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Kenley Jansen pitching for Los Angeles | NYM | LAD |
| Crawford in left field. | 3 | 2 |
| Jansen relieved Hatcher. | 3 | 2 |
| Ellis catching. | 3 | 2 |
| Duda popped out to shortstop. | 3 | 2 |
| d'Arnaud fouled out to first. | 3 | 2 |
| Lagares doubled to left. | 3 | 2 |
| Flores intentionally walked. | 3 | 2 |
| Familia struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Jeurys Familia pitching for New York | NYM | LAD |
| Utley hit for Pederson. | 3 | 2 |
| Utley lined out to right. | 3 | 2 |
| Ellis struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| Kendrick struck out swinging. | 3 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| New York Mets | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Granderson RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .389 | .476 | .500 |
| Wright 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | .063 | .286 | .063 |
| Murphy 2B | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .333 | .333 | .810 |
| Céspedes CF-LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | .250 | .250 | .550 |
| Duda 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 21 | .111 | .200 | .111 |
| d'Arnaud C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .158 | .150 | .316 |
| Conforto LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .143 | .125 | .571 |
Lagares CF
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .429 | .500 | .714 |
| Flores SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 17 | .300 | .417 | .400 |
| deGrom P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-Johnson PH
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .250 | .250 | .250 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
Familia P
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 33 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 137 | |||
| a-reached on infield single to second for J Degrom in the 7th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Murphy (1, Greinke); Lagares (2, Jansen) HR: Murphy (3, 6th inning off Greinke 0 on, 1 Out) RBI: Murphy 2 (5), d'Arnaud (4) SF: d'Arnaud Mets RISP: 0-4 (Céspedes 0-1, Familia 0-1, Granderson 0-1, Duda 0-1) Team LOB: 6 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: Murphy (1, 3rd base off Greinke/Grandal) | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Flores (1, throw) DP: 1 (deGrom-Flores-Duda). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA |
| Attendance | 54,602 (97.5% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:13 |
| Weather | 78 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 8 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Gary Cederstrom, First Base - Chad Fairchild, Second Base - Alan Porter, Third Base - Jim Wolf, Left Field - Greg Gibson, Right Field - Chris Guccione |
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