David Wright would put the finishing touches on Kershaw's night by greeting reliever Pedro Baez and delivering a 100-MPH fastball into centerfield to drive in two insurance runs...as the Mets took Game 1 by a score of 3-1.

Watching deGrom and Kershaw lock horns was really a classic. Everyone will tell you that pitching is what wins in a short series. Great pitching has always been able to stymie even the best of hitting attacks. The Mets have proven that in the past. Just look at 1969 when they beat the hard-hitting Atlanta Braves and the powerful Baltimore Orioles. The young staff of Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, and Nolan Ryan shut those hitting machines down. In 1986, Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Bobby Ojeda did the same thing to the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox.

The fact is, even with the presence of the electric Yoenis Cespedes, the return of David Wright, the power of Lucas Duda, and the steady hitting of Curtis Granderson this Mets team is built for pitching. The power arms of deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz are overwhelming...well...apparently to opposing hitters. And don't forget that Zack Wheeler, who might even be the best of them all, is not even around for another 8-9 months. A series that features pitching duels actually plays right into the Mets strength.

And watching the stud pitchers is a lot of fun. And if they go up against a Kershaw or a Zack Greinke, then it makes you forget that the Mets hitters continue to strike out at an outrageous pace. A clutch hit here or there, and perhaps that is all these young guns need.

deGrom did his job in Game 1. Now let's see what Thor can do for an encore in Game 2.