Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
This has been a series unlike most in recent Dodger playoff memory. The offense has showed up in all the games and, aside from a hiccup in Game 2, has been strong. And now, the Dodgers have a chance to go back to the World Series for the first time since 2020 behind that offense and Jack Flaherty on the hill.
There had been some thought of today being a bullpen game for the Dodgers, but with Yoshinobu Yamamoto only throwing 4 1/3 innings last night (he was pretty good) and guys like Evan Phillips and Blake Treinen being extended a bit beyond their norm, that idea went out the window. Instead, the Dodgers turn to the guy who held the Mets scoreless over seven innings in Game 1 of the series.
The Dodgers likely don’t need seven innings out of Flaherty tonight, but he’s the defacto ace of the staff, and aces go out and shove in games like this. Not only that, a strong performance today and, potentially, in the World Series, could make Flaherty a lot of money in free agency. Incentives all around and such.
In Game 1, Flaherty opted to go after the Mets’ hitters a bit more with his knuckle curveball as opposed to his slider. He threw the curve 28.6% of the time on Sunday, which is up from his 21.9% in the regular season. As we saw in Games 3 and 4, Walker Buehler and Yamamoto had success with the curve, so that shouldn’t be surprising. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if that usage increased a bit today, depending on the situation.
Of course, Flaherty also has a good slider that was his primary secondary offering during the season (29%). He threw it 23.4% of the time in Game 1 and, while it’s different than Yamamoto’s slider, Flaherty might be wise to go to it a bit more today. Here’s what the Mets did against Yamamoto’s slider last night:
- 14 pitches
- 10 swings
- 5 foul balls
- 5 whiffs
- 0 balls in pay
It was dominant. Flaherty’s slider doesn’t spin as much, but it gets a similar number of whiffs and he’ll use it against both-handed hitters almost equally.
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Taking the mound for the Mets is David Peterson. He threw 40 pitches in Game 1 and entered in the third inning and last 2 1/3 innings. All 21 of his regular season appearances were as a starter, so he has the length to go deeper into the game, but I don’t expect the Mets to have a long leash with him if he gets into trouble. Kodai Senga is also available today, but he looks nothing like his usual self after dealing with multiple injuries this season. It’ll be an all-hands-on-deck situation for the Mets today.
With the lefty starting and a 3-1 series lead, it seemed like a good opportunity to give Freddie Freeman some extra rest. But Dave Roberts said last night — and reiterated it in his pregame presser — that Freeman would be ready to go, and that’s the case. he’s hitting cleanup. Gavin Lux is still out, but with the lefty Peterson starting and Lux’s sore hip, it makes sense. Andy Pages — who finally started to look a little better at the plate in his last two at-bats last night — starts in center field. All the other regular characters are in the lineup.
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First pitch is scheduled for 2:08 p.m. The Dodgers might be heading back to the Fall Classic for the first time in four years. That would be an acceptable outcome of today’s game. If Flaherty goes out and shoves, he could be in line for NLCS MVP honors, which is a pretty nifty thing to be able to put on one’s résumé.
