Mets' Conforto to make playoff debut, Pederson sits for Dodgers in Game 2
New York Mets rookie Michael Conforto will make the first postseason appearance of his young career Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting in left field in Game 2 of the NLDS in lieu of veteran Michael Cuddyer.
| No. | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curtis Granderson (L) | RF |
| 2 | David Wright | 3B |
| 3 | Daniel Murphy (L) | 2B |
| 4 | Yoenis Cespedes | CF |
| 5 | Lucas Duda (L) | 1B |
| 6 | Travis d'Arnaud | C |
| 7 | Michael Conforto (L) | LF |
| 8 | Ruben Tejada | SS |
| 9 | Noah Syndergaard (L) | P |
Conforto, the 10th overall pick in the 2014 draft, managed an impressive .841 OPS with nine home runs in 56 games for the Mets this season, but sat Friday against left-hander Clayton Kershaw. Cuddyer, the 36-year-old who started in his stead, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in his club's 3-1 victory at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, meanwhile, also tweaked his lineup for Game 2 after dropping the series opener, starting Kike Hernandez in center field instead of rookie Joc Pederson, while putting Yasmani Grandal back behind the plate after sitting him in favor of A.J. Ellis the night before.
| No. | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Howie Kendrick | 2B |
| 2 | Corey Seager (L) | SS |
| 3 | Adrian Gonzalez (L) | 1B |
| 4 | Justin Turner | 3B |
| 5 | Andre Ethier (L) | RF |
| 6 | Carl Crawford (L) | LF |
| 7 | Yasmani Grandal (S) | C |
| 8 | Kike Hernandez | CF |
| 9 | Zack Greinke | P |
Hernandez, 24, thrived in a part-time role this season, hitting .307/.346/.490 with seven homers and 12 doubles over 218 plate appearances. Grandal enjoyed a fine season, too, posting a career-best .756 OPS with 16 homers over 115 games en route to his first All-Star appearance.