What you need to know
Mets defeat Dodgers 7-3 to tie NLCS as it heads to New York
Dodgers cut into Mets’ lead with two runs in the sixth inning
Max Muncy leads off fifth with a solo homer for Dodgers
Bullpen game blows up in grand fashion as Dodgers lose to Mets
In theory, the Dodgers’ decision to go with a bullpen game in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday made sense.
The club’s lockdown relief corps had just gotten a rare night off, thanks to Jack Flaherty’s seven-inning gem in Game 1. Walker Buehler was an option to make a more traditional start, but the Dodgers wanted to save him for Game 3 in New York instead.
So, they planned to run back the pitching plan that worked so well in Game 4 of the NL Division Series, when they staved off elimination by throwing a group-effort shutout from eight different pitchers.
The only problem: It never materialized.
Unlike last week in San Diego, the Dodgers waited to deploy their highest-leverage relievers on Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
And before they could ever get to them, the game was already out of hand.
Mets defeat Dodgers 7-3 to tie NLCS as it heads to New York
⚾ Mets 7, Dodgers 3 — FINAL
Top of the ninth: Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez struck out Brandon Nimmo. Pete Alonso drew a walk, then stole second base. Starling Marte singled to center field, scoring Alonso to extend the Mets’ lead. Alonso slid into home just past the tag of Dodgers catcher Will Smith and Marte advanced to second on the throw home.
New York’s Jesse Winker singled to center to put runners on the corners. Jose Iglesias flied out to right field and Tyrone Taylor grounded out.
Bottom of the ninth: Andy Pages led off with a single to center field off Mets reliever Edwin Diaz. Shohei Ohtani drew a walk from Diaz, who then struck out Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman to end the game.
Mark Vientos gave the Mets a commanding lead in the second inning when he hit a grand slam off Dodgers pitcher Landon Knack. Francisco Lindor led off the game with a home run off opener Ryan Brasier, ending the Dodgers’ 33-inning shutout streak.
Max Muncy hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. Brent Honeywell pitched three scoreless innings of relief.
The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1 as it heads to New York for Game 3 on Wednesday.
Dodgers head into the ninth inning trailing Mets 6-3
⚾ Mets 6, Dodgers 3 — End of the eighth inning
Top of the eighth: Tyrone Taylor flied out. Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez was then called for a ball-four pitch violation, allowing Francisco Alvarez to take first. Francisco Lindor flied out and Mark Vientos grounded out.
Bottom of the eighth: Freddie Freeman grounded out and Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo made a leaping grab on a liner off the bat of Will Smith. Tommy Edman singled up the middle for his third hit of the game.
Mets reliever Ryan Stanek’s day ended when he walked Max Muncy. Facing Mets reliever Edwin Diaz, Kiké Hernández flied out to right field to strand runners on second and third and send the game to the ninth.
Dodgers trail Mets 6-3 heading into the eighth inning
⚾ Mets 6, Dodgers 3 — End of the seventh inning
Top of the seventh: Pete Alonso lined out before Dodgers reliever Brent Honeywell gave up a leadoff double down the left-field line to Starling Marte. Honeywell then struck out Jesse Winker and Jose Iglesias to hold the Mets scoreless over three innings.
Bottom of the seventh: Andy Pages popped out to first base. Phil Maton walked Shohei Ohtani, prompting the Mets to put Ryne Stanek on the mound. Mookie Betts struck out on three pitches and Teoscar Hernández grounded out to third base.
Dodgers cut into Mets’ lead with two runs in the sixth inning
⚾ Mets 6, Dodgers 3 — End of the sixth inning
Top of the sixth: Francisco Lindor reached first after zipping the ball off the glove of Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy for what was ruled an error. Mark Vientos then grounded into a 4-6-3 double play before Brandon Nimmo lined out to Mookie Betts in right field.
Bottom of the sixth: Mookie Betts and Tesocar Hernández each drew walks from Mets starter Sean Manaea. Freddie Freeman loaded the bases when Mets second baseman Jose Iglesias let the ball bounce off his glove after it ricocheted off the mound. The Iglesias error ended Manaea’s afternoon, with Phil Maton taking over in relief.
Will Smith popped out to second base. Tommy Edman then singled off the glove of diving Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, driving in Betts and Hernández to make it 6-3 Mets. Freeman leading off first appeared to complicate Alonso’s efforts to field the ball cleanly.
Maton walked Max Muncy to re-load the bases for Kiké Hernández, who grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the rally.
Max Muncy leads off bottom of fifth inning with a solo homer
⚾ Mets 6, Dodgers 1 — End of the fifth inning
Top of the fifth: Brent Honeywell entered as the Dodgers’ fourth pitcher of the game. Starling Marte popped out and Jesse Winker walked. Jose Iglesias lined out to third base before Honeywell grazed Tyrone Taylor with a pitch. Francisco Alvarez flied out to end the inning.
Bottom of the fifth: Max Muncy hit a leadoff solo home run to right field off Mets pitcher Sean Manaea to get the Dodgers on the board.
The Dodgers couldn’t build off of Muncy’s home run. Kiké Hernández flied out to right, Andy Pages struck out swinging and Shohei Ohtani popped out to first base.
Now that the Dodgers got rid of their dugout snake, will their Game 2 fortunes change?
Dodgers trail Mets 6-0 heading into the fifth inning
⚾ Mets 6, Dodgers 0 — End of the fourth inning
Top of the fourth: Facing Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda, Francisco Lindo grounded out before Mark Vientos singled to right field. Brandon Nimmo lined out to center. Banda struck out Pete Alonso on an 11th pitch called strike to cap the inning.
Bottom of the fourth: Sean Manaea retired the Dodgers in order — Freddie Freeman grounded out and Will Smith and Tommy Edman lined out. The Dodgers have one hit through four innings.
Top of Dodgers’ order goes down 1-2-3 vs. Sean Manaea
⚾ Mets 6, Dodgers 0 — End of the third inning
Top of the third: Dodgers pitcher Landon Knack gave up a leadoff single to Pete Alonso before getting Starling Marte to pop out. Knack struck out Jesse Winker before Jose Iglesias singled to left.
Tyrone Taylor drew a walk to load the bases, prompting pitching coach Mark Prior to pay Knack a visit. Francisco Alvarez flied out to center to end the inning.
Bottom of the third: Sean Manaea struck out Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts flied out to center and Teoscar Hernández struck out. Manaea has given up one hit and struck out six over three innings.
Teoscar Hernández’s agent fires back at critics of one-year Dodgers deal: ‘Who’s laughing now?’
Most agents representing MLB players don’t publicly gloat. But most agents don’t take the heat from their colleagues that Rafa Nieves apparently did when he negotiated a one-year, $23.5-million deal for Teoscar Hernández with the Dodgers last offseason.
Nieves, who has accumulated a star-studded clientele of primarily Latino players, answered his critics with a fact-packed X post that he believes exonerates his representation of the Dodgers left fielder: “9 months ago every agent criticized me and Teo for taking a 1-year deal. The truth is, the market was soft for everyone, and he was coming off a down year while playing in a very pitcher friendly environment.
“We were looking for a 3-year deal, and while reading the market and realizing that deal might not exist, I asked him what his priority was and he said he wanted to win and play deep into October, so we pivoted and focused on getting the best short term deal on the best team interested.”
Mark Vientos hits grand slam to give Mets 6-0 lead in second inning
⚾ Mets 6, Dodgers 0 — End of the second inning
Top of the second: Landon Knack replaced Ryan Brasier to start the second inning. New York’s Starling Marte led off with a single to left field before Knack walked Jesse Winker. After Jose Iglesias popped out, Tyrone Taylor hit a RBI double into the left-field corner, scoring Marte to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.
Francisco Alvarez popped out to short. The Dodgers intentionally walked Francisco Lindor to load the bases. Mark Vientos followed with a grand slam to right-center field off Knack, giving the Mets a 6-0 lead.
Bottom of the second: Mets starter Sean Manaea struck out Will Smith before Tommy Edman hit a leadoff single to center field. Max Muncy lined out to center. Manaea walked Kiké Hernández to put runners on first and second, prompting a mound visit. Manaea struck out Andy Pages to end the inning.
Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw intends to return for 2025 season
Clayton Kershaw is out for the rest of this postseason because of a toe injury. But he appears to have no plans this offseason to call it a career.
Before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, Kershaw told the Fox Sports pregame show that he is planning to play in 2025, when he can exercise a player option to stay with the Dodgers or (in a much more unlikely scenario) opt out of his deal and test free agency for a third straight winter.
“Mentally, I feel great,” Kershaw said. “I had shoulder surgery last offseason, and my shoulder and elbow, everything, my arm, feels great.
“Obviously, I had some tough luck with my foot this year. But I want to make use of this surgery. I don’t want to have surgery and shut it down. So I’m gonna come back next year and give it a go and see how it goes.”
Francisco Lindor leads off game with home run for Mets
⚾ Mets 1, Dodgers 0 — End of the first inning
Top of the first: Facing Dodgers opener Ryan Brasier, Mets star Francisco Lindor hit a solo home run into the Mets’ bullpen to end the Dodgers’ record-tying postseason scoreless innings streak at 33.
Mark Vientos lined out to right field before Brasier walked Brandon Nimmo. Pete Alonso then hit into a 5-4-3 double play to end the frame.
Bottom of the first: Mets left-handed starter Sean Manaea struck out Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts before walking Teoscar Hernández. Freddie Freeman flied out to right field.
Dodgers’ shutout innings streak looks much different than the original ’66 record
In 1966, the Dodgers roared into the World Series, in search of their third championship in four years. They did not score much that season, but they did not have to. They boasted a pitching staff that featured three Hall of Famers: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Don Sutton.
The Dodgers scored once in the second inning of Game 1, once in the third inning of Game 1, and never again in that World Series. The Baltimore Orioles swept the series by shutting out the Dodgers over the final 33 innings.
In the 120 years of postseason history, no team has ever thrown so many consecutive shutout innings.
Until Sunday, that is.
This year’s Dodgers, a team with a pitching staff cobbled together more by improvisation than master plan, tied the Orioles’ record Sunday, completing a third consecutive shutout — the last two division series games against the San Diego Padres, and the NL championship series opener against the New York Mets.
Jack Flaherty’s immortalizing Game 1 holds special meaning for L.A.-raised pitcher
Just a week earlier, he looked as if he was a reason, if not the reason, the Dodgers couldn’t win the World Series.
Sunday night, he became a reason they could.
In a 9-0 victory over the New York Mets in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, Jack Flaherty delivered the kind of performance that will immortalize him in these parts if his team parades down Sunset Boulevard early next month.
Flaherty was Sandy Koufax.
Flaherty was Fernando Valenzuela.
Flaherty was Orel Hershiser.
Over seven shutout innings, he limited the Mets to two hits, successive singles by Jesse Winker and Jose Iglesias in the fifth inning.
Thirty-three scoreless innings! Dodger pitchers zero in on history in Game 1 win
Bats have flailed, balls have soared, runners have sprinted, and still…
Nobody can score off the Dodgers!
The New York Mets came to town Sunday as the hottest team in baseball, unfurling all their magic and unleashing all their miracles and still…
Nobody can score off the Dodgers!
Thirty-three innings, four games, a boatload of potential rallies in the most crucial of October moments and still…
Nobody can score off the Dodgers?
Believe it, because the Mets believe it, just like the San Diego Padres were forced into believing it, even though it refutes history and defies description.
Small-ball strategy pays off: Why Dodgers are embracing sacrifice bunts vs. Mets
It was exactly 36 years ago Tuesday that Kirk Gibson hit his famous walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley and hobbled around the bases in Dodger Stadium, a 1988 World Series Game 1-winning shot that was so stunning it elicited this famous response from Jack Buck on the national radio broadcast: “I don’t believe … what I just saw!”
If Buck were still alive and in Chavez Ravine on Sunday night, he might have had a similar reaction to a pair of peculiar plays that lacked the drama of a walk-off homer but seemed almost as rare.
Not once, but twice in the first four innings of the National League Championship Series opener against the New York Mets, the Dodgers dropped perfectly placed sacrifice bunts, practically a lost art in today’s game.
Dodgers waste no time extending their dominance in NLCS Game 1 win
The Dodgers had been here before.
Coming off an emotional five-game division series against a National League West rival. Entering an NL Championship Series against a team with whom they were much less familiar. Four wins from reaching the World Series, and considered safe favorites to get there. But needing to regroup, and make a 48-hour shift from one series to the next.
In 2021, the Dodgers couldn’t do it. After defeating the San Francisco Giants in Game 5 of the NLDS, they lost Game 1 of the NLCS to the Atlanta Braves two days later. They never 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 of several holdovers from that 2021 team. “It doesn’t really work like that. I think it was a great learning experience for all of us.”
Three years later, they got to apply that knowledge this week.
Dodgers vs. Mets: How to watch and betting odds for Game 2
The Dodgers continue the postseason Monday when they face the New York Mets in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers lead the best-of-seven series 1-0.
The game is scheduled to start at 1:08 p.m. PDT and will air on Fox, FS1 and Fox Deportes. Radio broadcasts of the game will be on 570 AM and 1020 AM (Español) in the Los Angeles area.
Here’s the TV schedule for the remaining games in the series (all times Pacific):
Wednesday: Game 3 — Dodgers at New York Mets, 5:08 p.m. | FS1, FOXD
Thursday: Game 4 — Dodgers at New York Mets, 5:08 p.m. | FS1, FOXD
*Friday: Game 5 — Dodgers at New York Mets, 2:08 p.m. | FS1, FOXD
* Sunday, Oct. 20: Game 6 — New York Mets at Dodgers, 5:08 p.m. | FS1, FOXD
* Monday, Oct. 21: Game 7 — New York Mets at Dodgers, 5:08 p.m. | Fox, FS1, FOXD
*—if necessary