Three keys for the Dodgers to make the World Series

For the first time since 2021, the Dodgers took down a divisional opponent to advance to the NLCS, where they will face the Mets in the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

Whether it was through the power of the McDonald’s mascot Grimace, or through the power of José Iglesias’ song “OMG” that has been a running anthem for the team, the Mets stunned the baseball world by taking down their division rival Phillies for their first trip to the NLCS in nine years. They will match up against a Dodgers team that fought tooth and nail against the Padres.

The Dodgers won the season series against the Mets, taking four of six against New York including a three game sweep at Citi Field in late May. This Mets team is not the same from when the Dodgers last played them, using all the magic they could to launch into an unpredictable playoff run, doing so off the backs of numerous late game comebacks in both the regular season and the postseason.

So if the Dodgers, a team that was able to prove the doubters wrong and work their way to an NLCS appearance, want to work their way to their first World Series since 2020, there are three things that the Dodgers must do to overpower New York.

Monsters: The Kiké and Teoscar Hernández Story

Kiké Hernández opens up the NLCS with 14 career postseason home runs, the eighth-most among active players. Teoscar Hernández blasted his first two Dodger postseason home runs; a grand slam to bring the Dodgers within a one run deficit in Game 3 and the final run in a dominant Game 5 to clinch the series against San Diego.

If it hadn’t been for an aggravating groin injury for Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernández might’ve rarely touched the field for a Dodgers team attempting to reverse misfortunes in October. Hernández continued his strong second half into the playoffs, with his solo home run off of former teammate Yu Darvish being the deciding run that helped advance the Dodgers into the NLCS.

Teoscar Hernández was a true X-factor for the Dodgers in the regular season, and he stepped in nicely at times for an injured Freddie Freeman in the three hole within the Dodgers’ lineup. Over the course of the five games against San Diego, Teoscar slashed .333/.400/.667 with two home runs and a team high seven RBIs, registering a hit in each game.

The Dodgers 1-2-3 hitters did their part in igniting the Dodgers offense, with Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts combining for three home runs in the first four games, but they alone cannot propel the Dodgers to the World Series. As it showed in the series clinching finale over San Diego, the Dodgers found ways to strike the scoreboard without having to rely on the three MVPs at the top.

Starting pitching turnaround

Outside of Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s five shutout innings in Game 5, the Dodgers rotation cratered over the first three games of the NLDS. Yamamoto gave up five earned runs over three innings in Game 1, and although Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler combined for 10 innings in Games 2 and 3, they allowed a combined nine earned runs, including a six-run second inning by San Diego off of Buehler in Game 3.

When comparing the injury riddled starting rotation for the Dodgers to that of the Mets, New York has proven that they can go at least five innings (except the just-back Koda Senga, who starts Game 1) while limiting any damage against some of the National League’s better lineups. Los Angeles, on the other hand, hasn’t been so lucky.

There is a silver lining to the pitching woes the Dodgers have faced this October.

For starters, Jack Flaherty will begin the series for the Dodgers, and he was a workhorse in the regular season, tossing at least five innings in nine of his 10 starts since being acquired from the Tigers. The only caveat is his limited experience against New York, where he allowed four runs in 5⅓ innings against them as a member of the Cardinals back in 2019.

Walker Buehler has been a mixed bag in five career starts against the Mets, posting a 10 strikeout gem across seven one run innings in 2021 but also allowing five earned runs in just 2⅓ innings in his most recent start against New York in 2022. What Buehler showed in his start in Game 3 was his resilience after a disastrous six run innings, going three shutout innings while allowing the Dodgers offense to remain in contention.

And then there’s Yamamoto’s gem in Game 5, marking the first time he had ever silenced San Diego’s offense.

The trio of Flaherty, Buehler, and Yamamoto have the ability to pitch into the middle innings, although the success across those 15 innings have varied. If the Dodgers have any intentions of advancing, they will have to rely on this trio to attack the strike zone early, pitch to contact instead of flirting with finesse, and will have to ensure Dave Roberts’ trust to be able to pitch through the third time around the Mets’ lineup.

A massive sigh of relief

There’s been one constant so far down the stretch for the Dodgers; their bullpen has been utterly lights out.

After Game 2 of the NLDS, where the bullpen allowed six runs to the Padres and allowed four home runs, the bullpen has not allowed a run, in 16 innings. The Dodgers opted for a bullpen game facing elimination ahead of Game 4, and it worked out perfectly as eight different arms combined for a shutout performance to even the series. After Yamamoto’s five shutout innings, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Michael Kopech, and Blake Treinen combined for four shutout innings en route to the Dodgers first postseason series victory in three years.

Should the Dodgers know one thing about the Mets, they do not go down without a fight, with the Mets winning 44 come-from-behind games, leading all of baseball. Against some of the best relievers in baseball, i.e. Devin Williams of the Brewers, the Mets clawed their way back for comeback wins in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card series. They took a late lead against the Phillies in Game 1, erased a two run deficit in the ninth inning of Game 2, and a Francisco Lindor go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning of Game 4 sealed the deal for New York.

The Dodgers had to limit early offense against the Padres, a team that scored 14 runs in the first three innings across the first three games of the series. Now the Dodgers will face a team that feeds off of late-game deficits, and the bullpen will have to replicate the same success they’ve maintained since Game 3.

The Dodgers and Mets have had their fair share of postseason matchups, and the two teams face each other in the NLCS for the first time since 1988, ultimately ending in a World Series run for the Dodgers.

This isn’t the same Mets team the Dodgers faced early in the season, as the Mets posted a record of 67-40 since their final defeat against Los Angeles. The Mets have already shown that they can put up a fight against the league’s fiercest opponents, and the Dodgers have to control the magic that’s helped the Mets get to where they currently stand.

The Dodgers are just four wins away from their first World Series appearance since winning it all in 2020, and if they want to make it back to the promised land, then the team’s offense cannot be reliant on the top third of the lineup, the starting rotation has to push deeper into games, and the bullpen needs to carry their momentum from the previous series.