Dodgers' playoff scoreless innings record ends on Lindor's leadoff HR

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers rookie reliever Ben Casparius had enough at stake when he took the mound for the ninth inning of Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday. He had no idea a Major League record hung in the balance.

“I found out after the game,” Casparius said. “I'm honestly glad it was after the game, and it wasn't prior to it.”

“I had that thought, too,” said veteran reliever Daniel Hudson.

That’s because when Casparius delivered a scoreless ninth to seal a 9-0 win, the Dodgers tied the 1966 Orioles for the all-time record for a single postseason with their 33rd consecutive scoreless inning. And that’s where the streak ended, because Mets leadoff man Francisco Lindor opened Monday's 7-3 Dodgers loss in Game 2 with a home run off opener Ryan Brasier.

"I threw some good pitches and he fouled them off, and then I threw a bad one and he did what you're supposed to do with it,” said Brasier, who battled Lindor for eight pitches. “That's what happens sometimes when you get a good hitter like that."

“A bullpen day where you don't know what you're going to be facing, for us to get the first one across the board was important,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

It was a good run while it lasted. While the Orioles employed only four pitchers during their scoreless run against the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series, these Dodgers used 12 pitchers during their own streak, starting with Walker Buehler bouncing back from a six-run second inning in Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Padres.

For the record, here are the Dodgers pitchers who combined to make history:

Buehler (one appearance during the streak)
Anthony Banda (two appearances)
Hudson (three)
Michael Kopech (three)
Brasier (one)
Alex Vesia (two)
Evan Phillips (two)
Blake Treinen (two)
Landon Knack (one)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (one)
Jack Flaherty (one)
Casparius (one)

Along the way, those pitchers combined to hold opponents to a .127 average, including 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position, and allowed only one baserunner past second base. They won three consecutive shutouts in Games 4-5 of the NLDS and Game 1 of the NLCS, matching the 1966 Orioles and the 1905 New York Giants as the only teams to do that in the postseason.

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“That's cool,” said Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who was behind the plate for every inning. “It's been a good streak for our guys.”