The Dodgers had been right here earlier than.
Coming off an emotional five-game division sequence towards a Nationwide League West rival. Getting into an NL Championship Sequence towards a group with whom they have been a lot much less acquainted. 4 wins from reaching the World Sequence, and thought of secure favorites to get there. However needing to regroup, and make a 48-hour shift from one sequence to the following.
In 2021, the Dodgers couldn’t do it. After defeating the San Francisco Giants in Recreation 5 of the NLDS, they misplaced Recreation 1 of the NLCS to the Atlanta Braves two days later. They by no means recovered. Their October ended early.
“We beat a really good team then and then played another really good team and lost, thinking that we could reset and get back into the flow,” recalled outfielder Mookie Betts, one in all a number of holdovers from that 2021 group. “It doesn’t really work like that. I think it was a great learning experience for all of us.”
Three years later, they received to use that information this week.
On Friday, the Dodgers skilled the excessive level of their season, knocking out the San Diego Padres in a winner-take-all sport at Dodger Stadium.
Then on Sunday, they have been proper again at it towards the New York Mets, in a set of circumstances eerily acquainted to that 2021 marketing campaign.
This time, nevertheless, the two-day turnaround went smoother than earlier than. In Recreation 1 of the NLCS, the Dodgers delivered a 9-0 thumping to maintain the momentum rolling.
“I think we just stayed on that high,” Betts stated. “We didn’t try and reset.”
As an alternative, the offense jumped on Mets starter Kodai Senga early, tagging him with three runs in lower than two innings earlier than including three extra within the fourth.
Jack Flaherty pitched seven dominant innings, extending the group’s scoreless inning streak to a whopping 33 innings — tying a Main League Baseball postseason file — whereas additionally producing the longest shutout begin in a playoff sport for the Dodgers since Clayton Kershaw in 2020.
If that wasn’t sufficient, the Dodgers’ protection was good, too, making leaping catches on the wall, extending for snags over the foul-ground barrier and even throwing out a baserunner on a clueless fifth-inning mistake from Mets designated hitter Jesse Winker.
When the sport was lastly over, a lot of the 53,503-person crowd had already filed out.
By then, a powerful Recreation 1 assertion had been way back delivered.
“The most important part,” Flaherty stated, “was coming out and setting a tone.”
Sunday wasn’t alleged to be this simple for the Dodgers, not in spite of everything their advance work was crammed right into a 48-hour window.
In contrast to prepping for the Padres, a group the Dodgers had seen 13 occasions this 12 months, together with the penultimate sequence of the common season, their final assembly with the Mets was again in late Might.
At the moment, the Mets have been 11 video games beneath .500, seemingly headed towards a fireplace sale on the commerce deadline, and spiraling so dangerous that when one in all its relievers reportedly stated he performed for the “worst team” (the reliever, Jorge López, later claimed he was misquoted) it was nonetheless plausible.
Freddie Freeman celebrates with Mookie Betts after they each scored on a Max Muncy single within the first inning Sunday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Occasions)
Since then, nevertheless, the Mets have performed like a “completely different team,” supervisor Dave Roberts stated.
Their 66 wins after Might 29 — the ultimate lack of a three-game sweep towards the Dodgers — have been essentially the most in MLB. Their first two rounds of the postseason have been outlined by dramatic moments, together with Pete Alonso’s go-ahead ninth-inning house run within the wild card sequence and Francisco Lindor’s NLDS-sealing grand slam every week later.
Whereas the Dodgers went all the way down to the wire with the Padres, the Mets loved just a few further days of relaxation, as nicely, permitting them to line up their ace pitcher Senga to pitch in Sunday’s opener.
But, the Dodgers have been prepared.
The pitfalls of 2021 by no means reappeared.
Even with solely sooner or later to arrange, their teaching workers and scouting division labored via a lot of Friday night time, all of Saturday’s off-day and into the wee hours of Sunday morning to get each the lineup and pitching workers on top of things.
“You’re basically studying for a test,” stated hitting coach Aaron Bates, who like most Dodgers staffers spent extra time in conferences between the 2 sequence than he did sleeping.
“You sleep later,” Bates joked. “Just drink a lot of coffee, Ashoc [energy drinks], whatever you have to do to stay awake. And then, go off adrenaline.”
The Dodgers additionally had a plan towards Senga, the Mets’ Japanese right-hander, figuring out he would nonetheless be on a restricted pitch depend after making only one begin within the common season due to shoulder and calf accidents.
“A saying we’ve always kind of had when you’re approaching a guy that may not give a ton of innings, or maybe it’s an opener or any number of things is, he’s going to go as long as we let him go,” third baseman Max Muncy stated.
With Senga missing any semblance of command, the Dodgers didn’t let him get deep.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy tags out Mets baserunner Jesse Winker within the fifth inning Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Occasions)
Within the first inning, Betts walked on 4 pitches, Freddie Freeman took a free base from a full depend and Teoscar Hernández watched 4 extra balls miss the strike zone to load the bases.
An ensuing flyout from Will Smith supplied solely short-term reprieve.
After working a 2-and-1 depend with two outs within the inning, Muncy dumped a down-the-middle cutter into heart area for a single. Betts scored simply on the play. Then he turned and watched Freeman — with heavy spatting tape wrapped round his sprained proper ankle — hobble throughout house plate. With Freeman unable to decelerate shortly sufficient, Betts caught him in his arms, then wrapped him in a hug.
“I got Mookie to stop me from falling over at the end,” the 6-foot-5 Freeman joked.
“I’m only 170 pounds, and he’s a big dude, kind of collapsing,” added Betts, standing all of 5-foot-9. “Luckily I lift weights, so I was able to hold him.”
After one other stroll within the second inning was adopted by a sacrifice bunt and RBI single from Shohei Ohtani — who’s six for eight this postseason with runners on base however hitless in 16 at-bats in any other case — Senga was lastly chased from the sport.
“I thought the hitting coaches did a great job of putting together a game plan,” Roberts stated. “And then the players executed.”
The Dodgers saved constructing the lead within the fourth inning, when one other profitable sac bunt (it was their first sport with two of them since September 2021) helped key a three-run rally.
The 6-0 lead was greater than sufficient for Flaherty, who retired his first 9 batters, held the Mets hitless via the primary 4 innings and completed his 98-pitch gem with six strikeouts.
“It was just a pitching clinic,” Roberts stated, particularly happy with the way it afforded the membership’s all-important bullpen some much-needed relaxation. “For us to get seven innings, in a long series, was huge.”
Flaherty briefly wobbled within the fifth, giving up back-to-back singles to guide off the inning. On the second, nevertheless, Winker received thrown out on the bases because the lead runner, making a puzzling resolution after being deked by Kiké Hernández in heart area.
Shohei Ohtani factors towards Mookie Betts after Betts hit a three-run double within the eighth inning Sunday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Occasions)
As Hernández fielded the bouncing ball, he lined his physique up like he was throwing to 3rd, however tricked Winker — who was between second and third — by firing for second as a substitute. His head whipping forwards and backwards in confusion over the place the ball had gone, Winker slowed to a trot, permitting Gavin Lux to fireside on to 3rd the place Muncy tagged him out.
It was that type of sport for the Dodgers, who piled on within the eighth on a three-run double from Betts.
“It’s all about playing our game,” Freeman stated. “It’s about, keep applying pressure.”
Now, one other fast turnaround on this sequence awaits them, with a matinee Recreation 2 scheduled for 1:08 p.m. Monday afternoon.
However in October, because the Dodgers teaching workers fortunately famous pregame, sleep can wait.
