Duda stays in lineup; Cubs hit Hendricks 8th
CHICAGO -- In the end, manager Terry Collins said, there was little temptation to bench slumping slugger Lucas Duda for tonight's National League Championship Series Game 3 (air time 7:30 p.m. ET, game time 8 p.m. on TBS) at Wrigley Field. The Mets stuck with the lineup that earned them a Game 2 win, keeping Duda locked as their No. 5 hitter.
The only change for the Cubs, meanwhile, was a shift back to the No. 8 spot for the pitcher. That is right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who opposes Jacob deGrom.
Duda, who is 2-for-4 with two walks in his career against Hendricks, is hitting fifth. He is one of just one of four Mets to record a hit against Hendricks in a small sample size, but he is in a 2-for-21 funk this postseason without an extra-base hit. The Mets as a whole own a .150 (6-for-40) mark against Hendricks.
"It was easy for me," Collins said of his decision. "I don't want to mess with the lineup at the moment. We've been doing pretty well. So we'll run those same guys out there and see how we do."
Curtis Granderson (.333, 2-for-6) remains atop the New York lineup, and Daniel Murphy, hitting .429 (3-for-7) with two homers in the NLCS, once again occupies the three-hole.
In Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS in New York, the Cubs pitcher batted ninth both times. Manager Joe Maddon inserted the pitcher in the No. 8 spot the majority of the regular season, primarily to help rookie Addison Russell ease into the Majors. Maddon looked at Russell, who typically batted ninth, as a "leadoff man in training," and the move also allowed Maddon to make pitching changes quicker if needed.
Video: Solving red-hot Murphy is key to Cubs' success
Hendricks takes the mound for the Cubs as they return home, where the forecast will help the hitters. Game-time temperature was projected to be around 65 degrees, which would be 20 degrees warmer than it was in New York on Sunday.
The Cubs have three rookies in the lineup with Kris Bryant at third, Jorge Soler in right and Kyle Schwarber in left. Schwarber is one home run shy of joining Evan Longoria as the only rookies to hit more than four homers in the postseason.
NLCS Game 3 lineups:
Mets
1. Curtis Granderson RF
2. David Wright 3B
3. Daniel Murphy 2B
4. Yoenis Cespedes CF
5. Lucas Duda 1B
6. Travis d'Arnaud C
7. Michael Conforto LF
8. Wilmer Flores SS
9. Jacob deGrom P
Cubs
1. Dexter Fowler CF
2. Kyle Schwarber LF
3. Kris Bryant 3B
4. Anthony Rizzo 1B
5. Starlin Castro 2B
6. Jorge Soler RF
7. Miguel Montero C
8. Kyle Hendricks P
9. Javier Baez SS