"I honestly didn't know when he came out," deGrom said of what he expected of Collins' mound visit. "I was hoping he would let me pitch."
Collins' bullpen usage and other tactics have been second-guessed throughout his five-year tenure with the Mets, but he made no critical mistakes in his first career postseason series. Though his decision to stick with deGrom stands out most, the manager was also vehement about sticking with his left-handed hitters against Los Angeles' lefty starters, and massaged his bullpen all series by using starting pitcher Bartolo Colon out of the bullpen in three consecutive games.