Just when it looked like the Dodgers would take control of the National League Championship Series, the New York Mets did what they do best: fought back.
In Game 2, the Mets got out to a commanding 5-0 lead in the second inning. The offense, silenced the night before by a dominant Dodgers pitching staff, awakened. The pitching staff, led by Sean Manaea, quieted a star-studded Dodgers lineup.
With the win, the Dodgers are playing in the NLCS for the first time since 2021. They were eliminated in the NLDS the last two seasons. This season, the Dodgers were two wins shy of its fourth-straight 100-plus win season.
The Dodgers have been robbed of an NLCS appearance the last two seasons and are looking to win their second World Series this decade. And it won’t be an easy one with the hot bats of the New York Mets making the cross country trip to Los Angeles.
As dominant as the Dodgers have been the last 12 seasons, when was the last time they won the World Series? It wasn’t that long ago, they had an abbreviated season and they won in their third appearance in four years
After a 7-3 victory on Monday, the NLCS is now tied 1-1. The series is now headed to New York where the Dodgers and Mets will play three critical games in what multiple Dodgers players expect to be a “hectic” environment.
Here are three takeaways from the first two games of the series.
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The questions surrounding Dodgers’ pitching
After Game 1, in which Jack Flaherty threw seven shutout innings, the Dodgers’ pitching staff — especially their bullpen — appeared to be in great shape. After Monday, the questions become more pressing.
Walker Buehler, the Dodgers’ Game 3 starter, has struggled coming off his second Tommy John surgery. In 75.1 innings, he’s posted a 5.38 ERA and a 64/28 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Dodgers are hopeful that Buehler has begun turning the corner — he’s allowed only one run in two of his last four outings – and thrown at least five innings in each of those appearances
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