LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers, who privately worried about an emotional letdown in the National League Championship Series, spent Sunday night making sure they don’t get too confident the rest of the series.
The Dodgers absolutely manhandled the Mets, 9-0, in Game 1 of the NLCS, with New York becoming the latest victim in the Dodgers pitching staff’s path of destruction.
The only drama for the sellout crowd of 53,503 at Dodger Stadium was seeing just how long the Dodgers could continue their consecutive postseason scoreless shutout streak.
Hint: It’s still going.
The Dodgers tied the major-league record with 33 consecutive shutout innings, accomplished only by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series.
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The Dodgers pitching staff has been so overpowering that they’re yielding a .127 batting average over the 33 innings. They pitched a perfect game – retiring 27 consecutive batters in a row – going back to Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres until Francisco Lindor’s leadoff walk in the fourth inning.
Starter Jack Flaherty was sensational, pitching seven shutout innings and giving up just two hits. He retired the first nine batters he faced, and didn’t give up a hit until Jesse Winker’s leadoff single in the fifth inning. He was mobbed by his teammates in the dugout when he finished the seventh inning, having thrown 98 pitches.
Flaherty’s performance now allows Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to go with a bullpen game in Game 2 on Monday, saving starter Walker Buehler for Game 3 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Game 4.
The way the Dodgers thoroughly dominated the Mets on Sunday, there may be no need worrying about a Game 5.
Certainly, it could create pause for the Mets thinking about starting Kodai Senga again. He melted down in the biggest start of his major league career, lasting just 1 ⅓ innings, and never giving the Mets a chance.
He walked three consecutive batters in the first inning, and permitted six of the 10 batters he faced to reach base, and was mercifully pulled after throwing just 30 pitches, throwing just nine strikes, departing with the Dodgers up 3-0.
“He just didn’t have it together,’ Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Well, neither did any other Mets player, for that matter.
The Mets produced just three hits the entire game. Their vaunted top of the order with Lindor, Mark Vientos, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso went hitless, striking out four times.
If their pitching and hitting wasn’t bad enough, there was first baseman Pete Alonso’s throwing error and Winker’s brutal baserunning blunder. He killed the Mets’ lone rally of the night in the fifth inning. Winker led off with a single to right field, and Jose Iglesias followed with a single to center, setting up a first-and-third situation with no outs.
Nuh-uh.
Winker, who had a good jump, looked at center fielder Enrique Hernandez, who faked as if he was going to throw to third base. Winker froze. Hernandez threw the ball to second base. And Winker got caught up in no-man’s land, and was tagged out running to third base.
The Mets never recovered and didn’t reach base again until the eighth inning, after Flaherty departed.
Just like that, Game 1 eased any anxiety that the Dodgers might be tapped from their NLDS win.
“I think the clubhouse kind of found out about each other,’ said Dodgers infielder Max Muncy, whose two-run, two-out single in the first inning set the tone. “It’s something that we knew kind of who we were the whole season. But you get into the fire like that [against the Padres] in that kind of atmosphere, you learn who you are as a team.
“I think everyone really liked what they saw. And you just find out there’s no quit, there’s no give-up, there’s no letting down on anything. That’s what you need this time of year.’
The Dodgers offense steadily wore down the Mets. They didn’t produce a single extra-base hit until Mookie Betts’ three-run double in the 8th inning but provided a slow, torturous attack with nine singles – and two-hit games by Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Enrique Hernandez.
“They are really good, it’s not a secret,” Mendoza said. “That’s a really good team and a lot of superstars. They are deep. They’re versatile. They’re righty-lefty. And they can do a lot of different things offensively.’
And, as Mendoza painfully discovered Sunday, they’ve got an awfully deep and talented pitching staff, too.
“They’re sparking us right now,’’ Muncy said. “They’re showing the fire for us, and we all want to get behind them. We all want to give them the lead and let them go out there and do what they want to do.’’
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Here’s how Sunday’s game unfolded:
Mookie Betts clears the bases in 8th
With a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth, Mookie Betts laced a bases-loaded double inside third base that brought home all three runners and extended the Dodgers lead to 9-0.
Mets without a run through eight
Dodgers pitchers are at 32 consecutive scoreless innings, with Daniel Hudson pitching the eighth after a stellar seven-inning start from Jack Flaherty. Hudson walked a batter and gave up a hit in the eight, but stranded two runners by getting a Francisco Lindor fly out and a Mark Vientos strikeout.
Dodgers pitchers run scoreless streak to 30 innings
Jack Flaherty has tossed six shutout innings for the Dodgers, whose pitchers have now combined to hold opponents without a run for 30 innings – dating back to Game 3 of the NLDS against the Padres.
Los Angeles leads the Mets 6-0 heading into the seventh inning.
Dodgers add three more: 6-0 through four
With one out o the bottom of the fourth, Tommy Edman’s RBI single off David Peterson made it 4-0. Shohei Ohtani followed with an RBI double to right-center, extending the Los Angeles lead to 5-0. With two outs, Freddie Freeman blooped a single into left field to score Ohtani for the Dodgers’ sixth run.
Ohtani’s two run-scoring hits are a good sign after he went 2-for-15 in the last four games of the NLDS against the Padres.
Mets hitless through four
Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty didn’t allow a baserunner in the first three innings – but issued two walks in the top of the fourth, ultimately stranding the pair as the Mets squandered a scoring opportunity.
Lefty David Peterson came on to get the final out in the third inning and goes back out to start the fourth for the Mets.
Shohei Ohtani RBI single makes it 3-0
After Gavin Lux walked and Tommy Edman bunted him over, Shohei Ohtani delivered an RBI single to extend the Dodgers’ lead to 3-0.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pulled Kodai Senga after that, bringing in Reed Garrett from the bullpen. The right-hander retired Mookie Betts and then Ohtani was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.
Dodgers take 2-0 first-inning lead
After retiring leadoff man Shohei Ohtani, Mets starter Kodai Senga walked three consecutive batters to load the bases with one out, throwing just three of his first 16 pitches for strikes.
Senga got Will Smith to fly out to center – not hit deep enough to score Mookie Betts – but Max Muncy made him pay with a two-run single to center with two outs. After a wild pitch moved runners to second and third, Senga got Enrique Hernández for the third out and minimize the damage.
NLCS Game 1 underway in Los Angeles
Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty set the Mets down in order to begin the 2024 National League Championship Series: a Francisco Lindor groundout, Mark Vientos strikeout and Brandon Nimmo lineout.
Dodgers pitchers have now gone 25 innings without allowing a run.
Acquired from the Tigers at the trade deadline, Flaherty went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 10 regular season starts for the Dodgers.
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Dodgers NLCS roster
LOS ANGELES — Relief pitcher Alex Vesia and shortstop Miguel Rojas were left off the NLCS roster on Sunday.
Veisa was left out due to a right intercostal injury but Dodgers president Andrew Friedman told reporters that the team is “hopeful” that Vesia could be available for the World Series if the team were to advance.
Dodgers pitcher Brent Honeywell was named to the NLCS roster in Vesia’s place. Honeywell was placed on the injured list in late September after cracking his fingernail on the middle finger of his right hand.
Rojas will be unavailable due to a torn adductor muscle that forced him to miss the last two games of the NLDS. Kevin Kiermaier was added to the roster to provide depth to the outfield, and Tommy Edman is expected to replace Rojas at shortstop
– James H. Williams
Mets NLCS roster: Jeff McNeil added, Ottavino out
LOS ANGELES — The New York Mets are fully healthy heading into their National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.
The Mets announced their NLCS roster with second baseman Jeff McNeil as a notable inclusion after missing more than a month with a fractured wrist. To make room for McNeil, the Mets removed right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino for the best-of-seven series against the Dodgers.
McNeil has not played since Sept. 6 when he was removed from a game against the Reds after being hit on the right arm. Before the injury, McNeil was coming into his own in the second half, batting .289 with a .923 OPS, including seven home runs, 12 doubles, 20 RBI and 22 runs in 41 games after the All-Star break.
– Andrew Tredinnick, NorthJersey.com
Mets lineup for Game 1
Francisco Lindor (S) SS
Mark Vientos (R) 3B
Brandon Nimmo (L) LF
Pete Alonso (R) 1B
Starling Marte (R) RF
Jesse Winker (L) DH
Jose Iglesias (R) 2B
Tyrone Taylor (R) CF
Francisco Alvarez (R) C
Dodgers lineup
Shohei Ohtani (L) DH
Mookie Betts (R) RF
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Teoscar Hernández (R) LF
Will Smith (R) C
Max Muncy (L) 3B
Enrique Hernández (R) CF
Gavin Lux (L) 2B
Tommy Edman (S) SS