New York Mets: Who Starts Game 2 vs. Chicago Cubs?

The New York Mets will be hosting the Chicago Cubs this weekend in a National League Championship Series that no one saw coming back in April. It will be a thrilling matchup for even the most leisure of baseball fans, as the young talented arms of the Mets will be going head-to-head with the young talented bats of the Cubs. The Mets know that the first player that will try and slow down the Cubs will be Matt Harvey in Game 1. But who will follow him in the rotation?

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That is something that Mets manager Terry Collins is not yet sure of. The delay in the announcement was because Noah Syndergaard was used in relief during Thursday night’s deciding Game 5 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the first time that Syndergaard had entered a game as a reliever, so the Mets need to see how he reacts and recovers from it before deciding that he will take the mound Sunday in Game 2.

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One of the problems also plaguing the Mets is the workload that Syndergaard put in Thursday. While he only pitched one inning, needing 17 pitches to dispatch the Dodgers in the seventh inning, they are worried that he threw too much warming up. Syndergaard was up as early as the second inning, and could be seen warming up every time that Jacob deGrom got into a little bit of trouble, which was virtually every inning prior to the one-two-three sixth inning, the last one deGrom pitched on the night.

It is something Collins was fully aware of and would be taking into consideration. “I’m certainly well aware that I got him up four times last night [Thursday]. You could almost say he got ready four times. That could have almost been five innings of work because I knew he threw over 100 pitches warming up. So if he’s still tender tomorrow [Saturday], he’s probably not going to be Game 2 guy. That’s why I say I don’t have one at the moment,” Collins said.

For many teams, this uncertainty would be a huge problem and concern. Not knowing who you are going to turn to in what could be a pivotal Game 2 before heading to Chicago would drive some people nuts. But for a savvy manager like Collins, and with the arms that he has at his disposal, he won’t lose much sleep over it.

If Syndergaard is deemed unable to go, he will just turn to Steven Matz. Matz was a little shaky in his first postseason appearance, but did nothing to have Collins’ confidence in him waver. He would take the ball in Game 2 if Syndergaard is unable to go, pushing Syndergaard to Game 3.

However things may turn out, the Mets will be confidence in who they put out on the mound. The pitching staff was a driving force in getting them to where they are currently, and Collins has full confidence in his starting staff putting them up against anyone.

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