Dodgers walking at unprecedented clip: 'They're not going to chase'

NEW YORK -- They grind you down, these Dodgers.

It looks in the box score like Thursday’s 10-2 win over the Mets in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series was decided by Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff laser beam and Mookie Betts’ four hits and unlikely cleanup hitter Tommy Edman’s two run-scoring doubles, but the deeper problem is the way L.A.’s superstar-studded lineup wears down opposing pitchers with patience.

No National League team was better at the simple act of taking balls and swinging at strikes in the regular season, and now the Dodgers are taking it to another level in a record-setting NLCS against the Mets.

“We had a plan tonight,” said Freddie Freeman, who rested his ailing right ankle and watched the Dodgers move to within one more victory of the World Series. “Don’t give in to the nibble.”

They knew they would see some of that from Mets starter Jose Quintana, who picks around the strike zone with precision. During the regular season, 44 percent of Quintana’s pitches were in the strike zone -- the lowest rate of any qualifying pitcher. It was the focus of the Dodgers’ pregame hitters’ meeting, Freeman said.

Then, while Freeman watched, the Dodgers refused to nibble. The result was nine walks in the game, increasing their total to 31 walks so far in this series -- a record for any stretch of four games in one postseason or multiple postseasons.

31 - 2024 Dodgers, NLCS Games 1-4
30 - 1995 Yankees, ALDS Games 2-5
30 - 1974 Dodgers, NLCS Games 1-4
29 - 2009 Yankees, ALCS Games 3-6
29 - 2000 Yankees, ALCS Game 5-World Series Game 2

Not surprisingly, it’s also a dubious record for the Mets. Here are the most walks issued by one team over any four postseason games:

31 - 2024 Mets, NLCS Games 1-4
31 - 2017 Cubs, NLDS Games 4-5, NLCS Games 1-2
30 - 1995 Mariners, ALDS Games 2-5
30 - 1974 Pirates, NLCS Games 1-4

It was the Dodgers’ fourth consecutive postseason game with at least seven walks, another record. Since 1901, the storied Dodgers have only one such stretch over any four games, and it happened way back on May 17-21, 1952.

All of those walks have paid off in more than wear and tear on Mets pitchers. Of those 31 free baserunners for the Dodgers, 12 have scored.

Perhaps this isn’t surprising. No NL lineup walked more than the Dodgers (602 times) during the regular season and no NL team chased less. The Dodgers and Brewers tied for the best mark in the league by chasing 25.7 percent of pitches outside the zone. The only team more disciplined was the Yankees (24.5 percent), who had the Juan Soto advantage.

At the same time, no NL pitching staff issued more walks in the regular season than the Mets, who put 586 runners on base -- 23 more than the next-closest team.

“That's what makes that team [the Dodgers] such a good team,” said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. “It's not only [Shohei] Ohtani, it's Mookie [Betts] and Teoscar Hernández and it's Freddie, even though he wasn't there, and the bottom of the lineup.

“And you've got [Max] Muncy there, too, and Kiké [Hernández] doing things that Kiké does this time of the year. I think it's a deep lineup, but the biggest thing is they're going to force you in the zone. They're not going to chase. When you do come in the zone, you have to execute. Because if not, they're going to make you pay.”

Quintana was reminded of that on the game’s second pitch. Ohtani hit it a Statcast-projected 422 feet for a 1-0 lead. The next three times up, Ohtani walked.

Muncy also walked three times while running his on-base streak to 12 consecutive plate appearances, matching Reggie Jackson’s postseason record. Even Teoscar Hernández walked twice in the game for six walks so far in the series, and beamed with pride afterward.

“And I’m not a walk guy,” Hernández said.

With the Dodgers, everybody can be a walk guy.

“There’s no heroes in this clubhouse,” he said. “If they’re not pitching to you, just get on base for the next guy.”

• Dodgers-Mets NLCS Game 5 FAQ

Said Chris Taylor, who is playing in his eighth postseason with the Dodgers: “It’s about coming with the right energy and not falling into the trap of the last couple of years and thinking we’re going to go into the playoffs and play the same way we’ve played all regular season. I think it takes another level of focus once you get into the postseason.”

On Thursday, that focus started in the hitters’ meeting.

Now, the Dodgers are one more good day away from the World Series.

“I think we’re just finding our stride,” Muncy said. “I think it’s really just this clubhouse coming together. I know it’s kind of a cliche thing to say, but at this time of year, that really makes a big difference when you have an entire clubhouse bonding the way we’re bonding, and you’re willing to go out there and do whatever it takes for the guy next to you. That’s a huge thing.”