Dodger pitchers move into MLB history in Game 1 against the Mets

Bats slammed, balls flew into the air, runners sprinted, and still…

Nobody can score against the Dodgers!

The New York Mets came to town on Sunday as the hottest team in baseball, working all their magic and unleashing all their wonders, and yet…

Nobody can score against the Dodgers!

Thirty-three innings, four games, a slew of potential turnovers in crucial moments in October and still…

Nobody can score against the Dodgers?

Believe it, because the Mets believe it, just like the San Diego Padres were forced to believe it, even if it belies history and defies description.

A Dodger pitching unit that was considered the team's greatest weakness early in the postseason has emerged as its greatest strength: Jack Flaherty and two relievers teamed up for the third consecutive game on Sunday, pitching 33 consecutive scoreless innings set a major league postseason record while shutting out the Mets 9-0 in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium.

The streak dates back to Game 3 of the Division Series against the Padres, includes 10 different Dodger pitchers and looks something like this:

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“You can’t really put it into words,” Flaherty said.

The Dodgers pitching staff has become zero-heroes, and it's hard to imagine this best-of-seven streak lasting very long if the Mets can't do what you have to do to win games .

That means, you know, points runs.

“I think it’s just a collective effort,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the record equalizer. “Certainly the players involved in all those scoreless innings were fantastic. I think defensively we were very good. … I think the coaches have done a great job of relaying the information and making it tangible and letting our pitchers and catchers do a great job of sequencing … and the front office just getting the information that we get. I just think the way we prevent runs is a complete team effort, a collective effort.”

The torch was initially taken on Sunday by Flaherty, who was acquired at the trade deadline for this very reason, playing in big games and playing ace.

He retired the first nine batters, with only one ball leaving the infield. Then he appeared to be in trouble early in the fourth when he struck out Francisco Lindor, and two outs later he walked Pete Alonso.

Two runners on, two out, but no problem as Flaherty ended the inning by getting Starling Marte to fly out to right.

There appeared to be more problems in the fifth as Jesse Winker led off with a single to right, then Jose Iglesias singled to center as Winker rounded out the second and slowed down halfway through the third. But centerfielder Kiké Hernández unsettled Winker by throwing him behind him to second base, causing him to inexplicably stop, and eventually he was thrown out by Gavin Lux at third base.

“Kiké’s heads-up look — body moving toward third base and then throwing it behind the runner — just an exhilarating baseball play,” Roberts said. “And that, I thought, was exactly what took the wind out of their sails. You look at first and second base, no one outside. I started getting the pen going right there. Being able to get out of it and get through it allowed Jack to move on. That was a great game from Kiké.”

Flaherty retired the next eight batters before leaving the game after seven innings for reliever Daniel Hudson, who promptly struck out Jose Iglesias and gave up a single to Francisco Alvarez.

Problem? Against those hot Dodger arms? Forget it again.

Francisco Lindor flied out to center and Mark Vientos struck out to end the inning.

Ben Casparius took over in the ninth and finished the game with another 1-2-3 inning that ended with a wild Marte strikeout.

Dodgers reliever Ben Casparius reacts after the final out in the Dodgers' victory over the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday night.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The game ended with a roar, the stadium and its inhabitants shaking with energy that the Dodgers initially feared would be missing.

There was concern before the game that the Dodgers were essentially in the same emotionally drained situation they were in the 2021 postseason.

That's when they defeated the rival San Francisco Giants in an emotional five-game series that drained them. In the following NLCS, they quickly fell behind the Atlanta Braves by two games to zero before losing the series four games to two.

The Dodgers were the better team, but they admitted that the Giants had exhausted their potential, that they had lost their edge and had nothing left for the Braves.

This is how this year’s NLCS theme came about.

Don't let up

“I think the first thing is we need to maintain our fire and intensity from the last series,” Max Muncy said before the game. “That's something I've seen in the past where we've won a big series and then you move on to the next one and you almost let up a little bit.”

The Dodgers stormed into the night with a history lesson learned.

Max Muncy hits a two-run single for the Dodgers in the first inning of Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

You would have thought it would be a crazy night when Manny Ramirez led the Dodger crowd in cheers before throwing out the first pitch. He is the first former Dodger to receive the honor after being suspended for 50 games for taking steroids in the form of a female fertility drug.

It turns out the madness had just begun and a question arose that haunted the Mets like the Padres before them.

Will anyone ever score against the Dodgers?