NFL
By George Lopez
The Los Angeles Dodgers welcome the New York Mets to Dodger Stadium this Sunday for Game One of the NLCS. The Mets are coming off an impressive 3-1 series win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. The Dodgers are coming off a thrilling 3-2 series win over NL West division rival San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers showed grit and determination in their series against the Padres that the team did not have the past two years when they were eliminated in the NLDS. After falling behind 2 games to 1, the Dodgers shut down a vaunted Padres’ lineup, throwing back-to-back shutouts in games 4 and 5. The Dodgers ended the series with 24 consecutive scoreless innings. The Dodgers pitching staff will look to continue their impressive playoff run.
The Dodgers have announced Jack Flaherty as their Game 1 starter. Flaherty will look to bounce back from his start in the NLDS where he allowed 4 runs in 5.1 innings. The Dodgers have not announced who will start Game 2, though it does appear Walker Buehler will get the start. Looking to continue to give Yoshinobu Yamamoto an extra day of rest, the Dodgers may hold him off until Game 4 and go with a bullpen game in Game 3.
With injuries to the starting rotation, the Dodgers will have a 3-man rotation in this series. Landon Knack is an option as a 4th starter. With a 3-man rotation, the Dodgers will rely heavily on their bullpen. In their series-clinching win, Alex Vesia was forced to come out of the game due to an injury. The Dodgers are hopeful the injury isn’t serious and Vesia will be available for the NLCS. Vesia, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, and Blake Treinen have formed the top 4 relievers for manager Dave Roberts at the end of the game.
The Padres were able to contain Shohei Ohtani, holding him a .200 average. At times in the series, Ohtani appeared to press when up to bat, chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Ohtani will look to get back to his plate discipline. Look for the Mets pitchers to challenge Ohtani with hard fastballs up and in and off-speed pitches down and away to get Ohtani to expand the strike zone.
Freddie Freeman is still dealing with an ankle injury he suffered at the end of the season and his mobility has been limited. Freeman and the Dodgers training staff will continue treatment on Freeman’s ankle to get him as ready as possible to be on the field. If Freeman is not able to play, look for Max Muncy to move to 1st base and Kiki Hernandez to play 3rd base.
Having wrapped up their NLDS Series on Wednesday, the Mets were able to set up their rotation. Kodai Senga will get the start in Game 1. Coming back from an injury, Senga is not stretched out and is not expected to go deep in the game. Sean Manaea is slotted to start Game 2 for the Mets. The Mets have not announced who will start for Games 3 and 4, though Luis Servino and Jose Quintana should be expected to get the call. David Peterson is an option for being one of the Mets starters, though the Mets may keep him in the bullpen to be used as a left-handed relief pitcher.
The Mets have one of the best closers in the game with Edwin Diaz. Manager Carlos Mendoza will look to shorten the game and go to his bullpen to get the ball to Diaz. The Mets will use Diaz for multiple innings to close out games.
The Mets have found their swagger on offense, coming off their improbable win against the Brewers in the Wild Card round. Francisco Lindor had an MVP-caliber season in leading the Mets to the postseason. Lindor punched the Mets ticket to the NLCS with a grand slam off Phillies closer Carlos Estevez in their series-clinching game. Pete Alonso has found his swing in the postseason. Both the Brewers and Phillies looked to pitch Alonso away and he responded by driving the ball to right field. The Dodgers will look to mix up how they pitch to Alonso.
The Mets have found ways to win games that most “experts” would believe they could not win. They are playing with the confidence you want to have during the playoffs. The Dodgers exercised recent NLDS demons and are coming off an emotional NLDS victory against their rivals. This promises to be an exciting series. Look for the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to the World Series, winning the NLCS in tough, hard-fought 6 games.
