NLCS Game One Recap: Harvey, Murphy Put it on the Table

A college ambiance accompanied me for Game One of the NLCS as I joined an unsurprisingly, but definitely out of character, raucous Ravenswood scene at a local establishment. Sports bars ride the crescendos of the main event, and if you look back into your memories and squint, you can see yourself manifested as a patron in a different bar, observing a game where the stakes are high. I’ve been the fan sitting in the corner surrounded by their family and friends, beer in one hand, face in the other. I’ve been the loud-mouth fan screaming joyous obscenities at the subtlest hints of hope so faint that you have to pretend a little to feel it. I’ve been the dejected fan wondering why this is happening again even if the series is young and the reasons for my sadness do not sync up with the reality of the situation.

And so it was in this tiny Chicago bar which, judging from my casual Twitter viewing, was a microcosm for Cubs fans everywhere as the Mets beat the Cubs in Game One. To the left of me a dejected fan left after seeing Jorge Soler strikeout. To the right of me an older gentleman in a custom Marmaduke Cubs jersey, an awful choice no matter the context, stared blankly at his beer as Daniel Murphy came up with a fantastic grab to end the game. And sitting at one o’clock was a fan in his mid-50s, donning a Sandberg pullover, a whiskey drink, and a sad, sad face that has worn the disappointment of so many seasons. To that I say: it’s one game, let’s not get the sad party rolling because Matt Harvey, one of the most talented arms in a generation that is in no shortage of talented arms, showed three different stages of masterful pitching. Instead, let’s review what happened in this game and look ahead for a bit at the big showdown tonight.

Daniel Murphy, Dovahkiin

There are dragon slayers, guys who have had middling success against most competition but seem to get it up for the elite pitchers, and then there’s Daniel Murphy, who has hit home runs off of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and now Jon Lester. Murphy got a cookie-cutter on the third pitch of the at-bat and jumped all over it. Murphy then made a spectacular diving stop to his left side and fired it to first to retire Tommy La Stella and end the game. The patchily bearded lefty was quiet at the plate outside of the homer, but all in all it was a solid game for the otherwise unheralded second baseman.

The three stages of Matt Harvey

For the most part, baseball’s aesthetic beauty comes in spurts rather than a long, tantric, drawn-out period of time. Elite-level pitching performances are unique in their ability to have themes, story arcs, and narratives. Harvey was dominant and masterful early, showcasing an ability to change speeds, eye levels, and sequence all while possessing dominant stuff. His fastball, slider, and curveball were all working early, and he put together two beautiful sequences to Dexter Fowler and Kyle Schwarber in the first inning. Harvey’s command began to slip in the later innings as the Cubs started to put together better at-bats the second time through the order. His stuff was still crisp and he lasted five innings before a misplay in center cost him a run. Harvey gutted out innings six, seven, and eight before giving up a massive Schwarber home run and exiting in favor of Jeurys Familia.

BABIP Gods?

There’s a tendency to place all blame on some sort of BABIP genie anytime a team hits the ball hard and doesn’t get runs as a result. That’s a factor to be sure, but for the most part, that sort of BABIP blame game tends to obfuscate what can be gutty performances with double-barreled bullpen action going on in the background. The Cubs started to hit Harvey hard, there’s no mistaking that. But those hard hits weren’t the type of hits that leave the yard, and you have to believe that if those balls fall, Terry Collins pulls the cord before Harvey got himself into serious trouble. Harvey was impressive in three distinct fashions tonight, there’s no shame in that.

Momentum is tomorrow’s starting pitcher

A game one loss against a team with a talented starting staff isn’t a death knell. The task is still difficult as the Cubs will face Thor, Odin’s son, in Game Two Sunday, but the difficulty is mitigated some by Jake Arrieta taking the bump. Saturday’s loss was a disappointing one for a team that always seemed to be knocking on the door, but never got the breakthrough it needed. The story isn’t over yet, so it’s not time to drown your sorrows and look forward to who the Cubs can get in free agency to slot in the third or fourth starter’s slot.

There’s too much baseball left for that.

Lead photo courtesy of Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports