Mets defeat Dodgers, advance to NLCS against Cubs

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 post-season 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 hitting 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 with the long, shaggy hair, 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.​