LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has finally engineered something none of his predecessors have ever done. Sunday night, following a dazzling outing from hometown boy Jack Flaherty, the Dodgers ended their win against the New York Mets with a 33-inning scoreless streak, tying a record for most in MLB history.
Yes, it’s only Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. Yes, there are more opportunities for this kind of thing as a result of playoffs being far more rounds than they used to be, and yes, the previous team that held the record — the 1966 Orioles — did it on the backs of mainly starting pitchers. But that’s arguably what makes it all the more impressive.
We’re not talking about a streak that has come when it was just a matter of letting guys cook and getting a couple of wizardly plays from the likes of legends such as Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson to seal the deal. This streak has happened in the midst of elimination games and it’s happened with two handfuls of pitchers. The degree of difficulty is clearly higher.
Also to be noted: The Dodgers have set franchise records for the largest blowouts in postseason history, while they were at it. Wednesday, they set the record with an 8-0 win over the Padres in an elimination game on the road. Sunday, they broke it with a 9-0 drubbing of a so-called hot Mets team that had no idea what hit them.
“I thought you could see clearly that [Mets pitcher Kodai] Senga just didn’t have his A stuff tonight. The split was noncompetitive. He didn’t use his sweeper. And then he was just relying on the cutter, working behind hitters, walking guys,” Roberts explained after the game. “For us to take our walks and create stress … I just thought tonight we kind of checked down and got some big base hits, whether moving a guy over, moving him up, and then getting a knock. I just thought all night long we were really stubborn. I thought the hitting coaches did a great job of putting together a game plan. And then the players executed.”
In the bottom of the second inning, with Senga unable to hit the zone, Tommy Edman came to the plate with no outs after Gavin Lux took a walk. He bunted, moving Lux over, and on the next pitch, Shohei Ohtani singled him home to stretch the lead to 3-0 — the kind of simple maneuver that some might second-guess, but when it works, looks brilliant.
It happened again later in the game, looking routine. Roberts playing small ball with two sacrifices in a game, after only 10 all season.
“It’s just playoff baseball. I just think that, it’s the fact — the truth of the matter is that the postseason is different than the regular season. It’s about kind of 90 feet and giving yourself — and some of that was making sure Shohei had a chance to get up,” Roberts said matter of factly. “To Tommy’s and Kiké’s [Hernández] credit, driving in those runs were huge. And Gavin getting the bunt down, Tommy getting the bunt down, it’s just team baseball. If you can get a guy in scoring position, it just creates a little bit more stress.”
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