Dodgers-Yankees for Shohei Ohtani’s first World Series, plus MLB bullpen worries

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For the 12th time — but the first time since 1981 — the Yankees and Dodgers are facing each other in the World Series.  I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!

NLCS Game 6: Dodgers are World Series bound

Dodgers 10, Mets 5: Chalk another one up for the “Blowout Series” — the Dodgers were relentless again last night, putting an end to the chaotic and often-adrenaline-fueled run of the 2024 Mets.

Los Angeles got something that every World Series team ultimately needs: contributions from players who aren’t near the top of the payroll. Andy Pages hit two home runs in Game 5. Tommy Edman — acquired at the deadline and limited by injury to 37 games during the regular season — drove in four runs last night, and won NLCS MVP. He’s hitting .341 this postseason.

And of course, the bullpen-game strategy worked again. Not that five runs is exactly a lock-down performance, but with four days of rest between now and Game 1 of the World Series, who cares if it took seven pitchers to get through nine innings?

Now they’ll move on to face the Yankees (more on them later). Ohtani vs. Judge. New York vs. L.A. Here are five storylines to watch from the matchup of the two teams that finished with the best records in their respective leagues this year.

Andy McCullough has an in-depth look at how the Dodgers got here. One small spoiler: Shohei Ohtani was everything the Dodgers hoped he would be (well, almost; he didn’t even pitch this year) when they signed him to a $700 million contract last winter. For more on Ohtani, here’s Ken.

But first, a last look (for now) at the Mets: 

Ken’s Notebook: Ohtani’s first World Series

From my latest column:

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani strolled into the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse about 3 1/2 hours before first pitch, displaying the easygoing demeanor of a kid he once was, growing up in Japan. He smiled. He joked with teammates. He appeared completely relaxed, just happy to come to the field to play baseball.

Game 6 of the National League Championship Series awaited. Most of the Dodgers already were in uniform. But no worries for Ohtani. The New York Mets’ starter, left-hander Sean Manaea, had struck him out twice and popped him up in Game 2, prompting Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to say, “I haven’t seen him look that bad against anyone.” But one of Ohtani’s many strengths is that he is utterly secure in his ability and preparation. Not all superstars are that way.

Ohtani, 30, erased any memory of Game 2 with his first at-bat of Game 6, grounding a 2-2 sinker from Manaea up the middle for a single. He added an RBI single off Mets reliever Ryne Stanek in the seventh to improve to 18-for-his-last 22 with runners in scoring position. And when the Dodgers’ 10–5 victory was complete, he and Roberts poured beer over each other’s head in the clubhouse, celebrating a moment that will elevate the entire sport. Ohtani’s first trip to the World Series.

The Dodgers will face the New York Yankees in a collision of star power, Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman on one side, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton on the other. It’s possible Ohtani might not be the best player on the field. It’s also possible the competition will spur him to even greater heights.

Ohtani might not be Superman, but put a challenge in front of him, and watch him leap it in a single bound. As well as Manaea pitched against the Dodgers in Game 2, it was the first time they faced him with his lower arm slot, and he admitted he hit a wall in the sixth inning. Perhaps Ohtani felt confident things would be different seeing a tiring pitcher a second time in six days. Or perhaps he just knew, it would all work out in the end.

This was the script both Ohtani and the Dodgers envisioned when he signed his record 10-year, $700 million free-agent contract in December, with all but $20 million deferred. The deal is virtually certain to prove a bargain. From the money the Dodgers will invest before paying off the bulk of Ohtani’s salaries from 2034 to ‘43. From the 10 sponsorships they secured with Japanese companies. And from the trip to the World Series that Ohtani helped deliver in year one.

More here.

ALCS ICYMI: Yankees break pennant drought

Well, if the comebacks of grunge music, bucket hats and “The Crow” (1994, 2024) were not sufficient for 2024’s 1990s renaissance, this should do the trick: The New York Yankees are going to the World Series, closing out the ALCS in Cleveland over the weekend.

Obviously, they’ve been there this century. They lost in 2001 and 2003, and won it all in 2000 and 2009. But that was 15-plus years ago, so …yeah, basically the ’90s.

The Guardians put up a lot of fight, but in the end, the Yankees lineup was simply too good to be denied. Juan Soto’s decisive three-run home run in Game 6 was the result of an at-bat that showed exactly why he’s going to get paid this offseason. Throw in solid postseasons from Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe and a revitalized Giancarlo Stanton, and they’ve rolled through the AL playoffs without too much stress.

Of note: Aaron Judge  is still hitting just .161 this postseason, and Jazz Chisholm, Jr. is at .147. Rookie catcher Austin Wells — who batted in the cleanup position more frequently than any other this season — is hitting just .091.

If one or more of those guys snaps out of it, that’s a very dangerous lineup.

Then again, so are the Dodgers. And while we’re talking about throwbacks to eras bygone, this series is a hat-tip to the 1941-1981, when these two faced each other 11 times in the World Series — it’s the most frequent matchup in World Series history.

More Yankees:

• This year’s success is the result of sticking with a process the front office believed in, despite last year’s results, says Chris Kirschner.
• Radio legend John Sterling has come out of retirement for the playoffs. Brendan Kuty spoke to him about the unusual experience.

More Guardians:

Changes: Are bullpens OK?

How many times did you hear some version of this before the ALCS? The Guardians’ bullpen is their biggest strength.

If you’re a regular reader of the Windup, you heard it a few times, at least. Their bullpen was supposed to be their load-bearing wall, with Emmanuel Clase as the biggest stud of them all. Clase coming up short was a shock. The effect — the Guardians being eliminated — less so.

But Clase is far from the only reliever whose October performance looks different from what we’ve come to expect. Tyler Kepner’s story on Saturday lays out the logical conclusion: As starter workloads decrease, bullpen usage goes up, which leads to less sharpness from relievers.

Check it out: Here’s a chart of relief-pitching team ERAs from the regular season, Division Series and Championship series (all numbers before last night’s Dodgers-Mets game):

This isn’t even counting the Wild Card round, in which we saw Devin Williams (Brewers) and Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader (Astros) struggle to uncharacteristic levels.

It tends to be the case in baseball that one industry-wide adjustment leads to another market inefficiency. My guess? We might be in the early stages of the renaissance of the postseason long reliever. We’ve seen it succeed in recent history; the Rangers used Jon Gray and Andrew Heaney this way last year en route to a World Series win.

Handshakes and High Fives

Rustin Dodd and Sam Blum tell us what we’ve learned in the LCS round of the playoffs.

Evan Drellich has the latest on Diamond Sports, the Marlins joining their roster of two teams, and what MLB thinks about the possibility of FanDuel buying the naming rights.

Patrick Mooney looks at what the Cubs have done recently in free agency, and tells us what that might mean for this winter.

Jac Caglianone was a two-way star in Florida before the Royals drafted him in the first round this summer. Noah Furtado examines the big question: Will he be able to succeed at both in the pros?

Keith Law has more from the Arizona Fall League.

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(Top photo: Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)