Dodgers Dominate the Mets in Exhilarating NLCS Game 1 Win

Jack Flaherty looked to redeem himself in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In the middle of the NLDS, no one had expectations that these two teams would make it anywhere close to the Championship Series. Still, after the New York Mets upset the dominant Philadelphia Phillies and the Dodgers upset the San Diego Padres at home, we got the first matchup in the NLCS between these two since 2015.

The last time he stepped on the mound, Flaherty did not look good against the Padres. This made many fans doubt that this Game 1 campaign would benefit the Boys in Blue, who trusted the hometown pitcher to make the most of the massive opportunity to be one step closer to a World Series appearance.

Flaherty made the most of his entire Game 1 performance. It was a different outing for him tonight in which he only allowed two hits but struck out six batters and left it scoreless for the seven innings he was out there for.

When it came to the lineup, the Dodgers looked like Games 4 and 5 of the National League Division Series were just the appetizer to what they really wanted to show their fanbase. They brought the heat and exploded in bunches throughout the contest as Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Enrique Hernandez, and Tommy Edman racked up hits while runs were brought in by Ohtani, Freeman, Mookie Betts, Hernandez, Gavin Lux, and Edman.

The Dodgers' defense was also off the chain, preventing the Mets from hitting anything significant enough to land a run on the scoreboard. Los Angeles has been dominant by shutting down their opponents' offense over the last three games.

The spark they needed against San Diego has now traveled down to this Championship Series where they've shown the unflappable effort that Dodgers fans pleaded to see with the addition of Ohtani being a huge clutch factor.

Betts was the one Dodgers player that fans wanted to see break out of his funk and remind everyone just how incredible he can be with his hitting and speed. He was not able to knock down a hit in the first eight innings of Game 1 until he had bases loaded. The former MVP then brought three runs home and made his way to second base with a double, raising the score to a nine-to-nothing deficit.

To end the game and send fans home happy before an early Game 2 on Monday, the Dodgers brought in Ben Casparius to finish the night by shutting down the Mets with two flyball outs and a strikeout to Starling Marte.

The Boys in Blue celebrated the first of four potential wins for Los Angeles, who are now just three victories away from heading to their first World Series since the pandemic title in 2020.

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