he Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets opened Game 1 of their NLCS battle at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. The best-of-seven series started as both teams turned in top pitchers in their epic showdown.
Dave Roberts sent Jack Flaherty to the mound, while the Mets had Japanese star Kodai Senga.
Senga had a rocky first inning, walking Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez before Max Muncy drove in Betts and Freeman to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
Ad
Shohei Ohtani delivered for the Dodgers after recording a base hit in the second inning. Gavin Lux reached home to record the third run. The Mets struggled to score in the first three innings as Flaherty continued his dominance. The Mets were forced to remove Senga from the mound as Reed Garrett and David Peterson stepped in.
Ohtani stepped up again to drive in another two runs, after which he reached home to give his team a solid 6-0 lead. The Mets' offense struggled to make ends meet against their strong opponent. The Boys in Blue smashed six runs in seven hits in just four innings.
Ad
Flaherty had a strong outing for his team, pitching seven scoreless innings. Roberts and his squad showed pure dominance, as their offensive and defensive performance posed a huge threat to their opponent.
The bullpen was equally good as they continued to support Flaherty. As for the Mets, their offensive game was a disaster. It was a huge win for Los Angeles as they took a 1-0 lead, holding an advantage in this series. Betts had a base-clearing double in the bottom of the eight as they took a 9-0 lead.
Ad
Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Mets Player Stats
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Mets
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
Dodgers
2
1
0
3
0
0
0
3
X
9
9
0
Ad
Los Angeles Dodgers' Player Stats
HITTERS
AB
R
H
RBI
HR
BB
SO
LOB
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
FPTS
S. Ohtani DH
4
2
2
1
0
1
0
0
.250
.333
.375
.708
5.0
M. Betts RF
4
1
1
3
0
1
0
2
.227
.346
.545
.892
7.0
F. Freeman 1B
3
1
2
1
0
1
0
0
.353
.389
.353
.742
5.0
C. Taylor 2B
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
.000
.000
.000
0.0
T. Hernandez LF
3
0
0
0
0
2
2
3
.286
.400
.571
.971
1.0
A. Pages LF
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.000
.000
.000
.000
0.0
W. Smith C
3
0
0
0
0
1
2
5
.105
.292
.263
.555
0.0
M. Muncy 3B-1B
4
0
1
2
0
0
1
3
.182
.250
.364
.614
2.5
E. Hernandez CF-2B-3B
4
2
2
0
0
0
1
3
.385
.385
.615
1.000
3.5
G. Lux 2B
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
.263
.318
.421
.739
2.0
K. Kiermaier CF
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
.000
.000
.000
1.0
T. Edman SS
3
1
1
1
0
0
0
2
.250
.250
.250
.500
3.0
Total
31
9
9
8
0
7
6
21
-
-
-
-
-
Ad
PITCHERS
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
HR
ERA
WHIP
FPTS
J. Flaherty
7.0
2
0
0
2
6
0
2.92
0.81
23.0
D. Hudson
1.0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0.00
0.90
1.5
B. Casparius
0.1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.00
0.00
1.0
Total
8.2
3
0
0
3
7
0
-
-
-
Ad
New York Mets' Player Stats
HITTERS
AB
R
H
RBI
HR
BB
SO
LOB
AVG
OBP
SLG
OPS
FPTS
F. Lindor SS
3
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
.233
.368
.433
.802
0.5
M. Vientos 3B
4
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
.375
.412
.625
1.037
-1.5
B. Nimmo LF
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.241
.353
.345
.698
0.0
b- L. Acuna PH
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.000
.000
.000
.000
0.0
P. Alonso 1B
2
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
.250
.424
.667
1.091
0.5
S. Marte RF
3
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
.174
.300
.174
.474
-0.5
J. Winker DH
3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
.250
.438
.667
1.104
1.0
J. Iglesias 2B
2
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
.226
.273
.226
.499
2.0
T. Taylor CF
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.120
.154
.160
.314
0.0
a- J. McNeil PH
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
.000
.000
.000
0.0
H. Bader CF
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.167
.167
.167
.333
0.0
F. Alvarez C
3
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
.172
.172
.172
.345
0.5
Total
28
0
3
0
0
3
7
11
-
-
-
-
-
Ad
PITCHERS
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
HR
ERA
WHIP
FPTS
K. Senga
1.1
2
3
3
4
0
0
10.80
2.40
-5.0
R. Garrett
1.1
1
0
0
0
2
0
0.00
0.60
4.0
D. Peterson
2.1
4
3
2
1
2
0
2.08
1.38
1.0
D. Young
1.1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0.00
0.75
3.0
J. Butto
1.2
2
3
2
1
2
0
7.71
1.29
1.0
Total
8.0
9
9
7
7
6
0
-
-
-
Ad
Nobody hit home runs in Game 1, but it was an entertaining battle. The Mets will send Sean Manaea to the mound as their starter in Game 2. Manaea has seen some success this season, and he holds a 1-0 record with a 2.92 ERA in this postseason.
Roberts is yet to confirm his starting pitcher for Game 2. Walker Buehler might be one of the options, or it could be another bullpen game. Flaherty got the job done for his team as they won with a 9-0 final score.
×
Feedback
Why did you not like this content?
Was this article helpful?
Thank You for feedback
About the author
Cresswell McCoy
Cresswell McCoy is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda having almost 7 years of prior experience in content development. He holds and Master’s degree in Media and Communication Studies, and his baseball journey began when he joined an MLB betting site as a writer.
Cresswell supports the Philadelphia Phillies because of their top-notch roster and the entertainment they provide, and also admires the New Your Yankees because of their legacy in the sport. His favorite players are Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton and Brandon Marsh, while his favorite coach is Aaron Boone.
Some of his favorite baseball moments in recent times include Giancarlo Stanton's walk-off grand slam against the Pirates in 2022, Aaron Judge's iconic 62nd home run and the time Juan Soto provoked Miles Mikolas with his shuffle.
Cresswell's strengths lie in deeply analyzing playing styles of individual players, analyzing teams’ defensive strategies and batting approaches. He ensures accuracy in his articles by sourcing information only from official MLB handles and reliable insiders.
In his spare time, Cresswell is into heavy metal music and plays the guitar, and also enjoys hiking, camping in the woods and honing his survival skills.