LOS ANGELES — Much was made of how the cascade of injuries to Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers would present problems in October. Instead, the staff has been historically dominant. Los Angeles recorded its third consecutive shutout in a 9-0 win over the New York Mets.
Jack Flaherty threw seven scoreless frames, helping the Dodgers tie an MLB postseason record with 33 consecutive innings without allowing a run. They now share the mark with the 1966 Orioles — who set it against the Dodgers in a World Series sweep.
The Dodgers offense made Mets starting pitcher Kodai Senga pay for his four walks in 1 1/3 innings, as three came around to score. Los Angeles added three more runs in the fourth inning to break the game open, and three more in the eighth to make it a laugher.
The Mets didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning and recorded just three singles on the evening, one of which was erased on a base running blunder by Jesse Winker.
Once on the brink of postseason elimination, the Dodgers find themselves three wins away from competing in the World Series.
These teams will face off in a true getaway day game Monday before flying to New York. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:08 p.m. ET.
Dodgers pitching proves historic
The worries about the Dodgers’ perilous pitching to start this postseason have subsided and given way to dominance. When Francisco Lindor drew a leadoff walk against Flaherty in the fourth inning on Sunday, it snapped a stretch of 28 consecutive hitters retired by Dodgers pitchers dating to the National League Division Series. By the time Flaherty completed his fifth scoreless inning of the night, the Dodgers had established a National League postseason record with 29 consecutive scoreless innings, breaking the previous NL mark of 28 set by the New York Giants during the 1905 World Series.
They upped the ante by tying that all-time MLB record of 33 consecutive scoreless innings with a one-two-three ninth inning from reliever Ben Casparius.
Flaherty, the Dodgers’ star acquisition at the deadline, led the charge in Sunday’s edition of pitching excellence. After his first postseason start with Los Angeles was remembered more for a war of words with Manny Machado than most of what he did on the mound, the Dodgers right-hander was determined not to “try to do too much” his next time out. He delivered perhaps his finest start in his months as a Dodger.
Kodai Senga’s poor outing leads to second-guessing and questions
Unlike in the NLDS, the Mets had other solid options instead of opting for another short start from Senga to begin the NLCS.
They could have started Sean Manaea in Game 1. Instead, he will start Game 2.
And they could’ve had Senga throw a simulated game and have him appear later in the series, more stretched out. Instead, club officials said that if Senga was going to throw, they preferred he throw when it mattered.
It was always a gamble to carry Senga on the roster, knowing that he would only provide a few innings in a start before potentially being available to start again later in the series. It worked in the NLDS. This time, it backfired.
Senga’s outing looked bad from the jump. His fastball lacked zip and his splitters looked like balls as soon as they left his hand. Put simply, he didn’t have it.
Can he reclaim it later, assuming the Mets push the series beyond four games? Would the Mets trust him? Or would they go to David Peterson, who also didn’t look great Sunday (2 1/3 innings, four hits, one walk, three runs, two strikeouts)? Perhaps he’s too valuable as a reliever. So … Tylor Megill? Senga’s disastrous start created both second-guessing about the move to go with him and questions about what comes next.
Dodgers’ patience proved Senga’s undoing
Injuries disrupted Senga’s season and just about any chance for the Dodgers to get any recent look at him. How far Senga would be able to go for the Mets in Game 1 was another uncertainty.
“He’s going to go,” Max Muncy said pregame, “as long as we let him go.”
It wouldn’t be that long. The Dodgers waited out the Japanese right-hander as he struggled with his command, spraying fastballs and bouncing off-speed pitches. Of the 23 pitches Senga threw in the first, just seven were strikes. Two of three first-inning walks came back to bite him on Max Muncy’s two-run single. In the second inning, Senga issued a leadoff walk to Gavin Lux, who came around to score and make it 3-0.
The hook finally came after Senga had thrown 30 pitches, 10 strikes, and recorded four outs. For the second time in three games for the Dodgers, an opposing manager allowed a floundering starter to face Shohei Ohtani a second time with a runner on base. Just as he did against Dylan Cease in Game 4 of the National League Division Series, Ohtani punched a single through the right side.
For a Dodgers club that has struggled in recent postseasons to grab an early advantage, it was a victory. According to Inside Edge, the Dodgers won 81.9 percent of the regular season games they played in which they scored first.
(Top photo of Jack Flaherty: Harry How / Getty Images)
