Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers head into game five of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, one win away from their first World Series berth since the 2020 season.
Yesterday was more of the same for the Dodgers. All three wins this series, including back-to-back wins in Queens, have been lopsided affairs, with the Dodgers’ offense and pitching depth proving to be too much for the upstart Mets.
Today is the third and final game for the Dodgers on the road for this best-of-seven series, but all eyes are on right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty, who will take the ball for the Dodgers, hoping to send his childhood dream to the World Series.
However, this series isn’t over until it’s over, as we’ve seen time and time again multiple teams on the brink of elimination play their best baseball from there on out (2020 Dodgers, who were down 3-1 in the NLCS).
For the Mets, this is not unfamiliar territory. From June on, the team had an uphill battle to even make the postseason as the third and final wild card, the sixth seed in the National League.
However, their pitching plan today is bleak as the team will send lefty starter David Peterson to the mound in what is likely to be the New York Mets’ version of a bullpen game.
Still, the Dodgers have one goal in mind, according to third baseman Max Muncy, stating that the mindset today is that the series is tied 0-0, and they need to take care of business.
On the rubber
Jack Flaherty (1-1, 2.92 ERA) vs TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
On the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers is right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty, who the team traded for back at that July 30th deadline for starts just like this.
It will be the third start this October for Flaherty, and in game one of the National League Championship Series, he was flat-out dominant, pitching seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, and collecting six strikeouts on the night.
Flaherty’s performance in game one set the tone for the Dodgers this series, especially the Dodgers’ starting pitching staff, which has improved on all fronts from the National League Division Series, which saw Flaherty, Yamamoto, and Buehler throw a combined thirteen innings and allow seventeen hits and fifteen runs. However, this time around, those three have only allowed two runs.
The Mets hitters, minus third baseman Mark Vientos, have been borderline awful all series, and this is especially true after last night’s game, in which the Mets went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left a staggering twelve men on base.
Getting the start for the Mets is left-handed pitcher David Peterson, who has pitched well this October in his hybrid role, shifting between the bullpen and starting rotation during the regular season.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza stated today would be a bullpen game with nearly everyone available today as the Mets hope to stay alive and force a game six at Dodger Stadium.
One name that was specifically mentioned as a factor in the Mets’ game five was sophomore starter Kodai Senga, who was not sharp in game one. Senga allowed three runs in 1.1 innings while walking four batters in the Mets’ series opener loss.
Who to watch?
The one player that I am watching for the Dodgers this series is Jack Flaherty, with the Dodgers bullpen being used again in the fourth inning last night, including high-leverage arms such as Blake Treienen, the Dodgers would love another deep start from Flaherty.
Flaherty has started plenty of big games in his career, but perhaps today’s start with a chance to put his team into the World Series and win the National League Pennant could be the cream of the crop.
Great pitchers pray for games like today, and I expect Flaherty to do just fine and potentially close this series out today.
For the Mets, I’ll just go with their bullpen, which is expected to be used heavily in today’s game and has been lackluster this postseason with a combined 5.16 ERA in 45.1 innings this postseason.
Where to watch
The National League postseason will be exclusively broadcast on Fox Sports One (FS1) or Fox all the way up until the World Series.
Dodgers play-by-play broadcast announcer Joe Davis will join Atlanta Braves legend John Smoltz on the call as the primetime Fox baseball crew will broadcast this series.
First pitch for game five is set for 2:08 PM PT at Citi Field.
Betting Odds
Oddsmakers list the Dodgers as -142 moneyline favorites, while giving the underdog Mets +120 moneyline odds to win. Los Angeles (-1.5) is the favorite on the run line. The matchup’s over/under has been set at 7.5 runs.
The Dodgers, like yesterday, are also favored in the win probability at 51% compared to the Mets at 49%.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
