Dodgers 'come out with that energy,' dominant again in NLCS G1 rout

LOS ANGELES -- The last time the Dodgers were in the National League Championship Series, they were facing a team from the NL East after coming off a thrilling five-game series against a division rival in the NL Division Series.

Sound familiar?

In 2021, the Dodgers beat the Giants in a series that took a lot of emotional and physical energy. After advancing past the Giants, the Dodgers became the clear favorites to represent the NL in the World Series. Instead, the Dodgers were never able to recapture the same intensity and lost to the Braves in six games.

Leading up to this NLCS, the Dodgers remembered that series vividly. It’s still something that haunts some of the players who were also on that team. If given the opportunity, the Dodgers vowed to learn from their mistakes. It took three years, but L.A. finally got its chance. And at least for one night, it was well worth the wait.

The Dodgers picked up right where they left off, delivering one of their most complete games of the postseason, a 9-0 win over the Mets in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. It was the fourth-largest shutout win in postseason history.

In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams winning Game 1 have gone on to take the series 123 of 191 times (64%). In series under the current 2-3-2 format, teams winning Game 1 at home have gone on to take the series 66 of 99 times (67%).

• Mets-Dodgers NLCS Game 2 FAQ

“We learned a lot [in 2021],” said Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts. “We beat a really good team then and then played another really good team and lost, thinking that we could reset and get back into the flow. It doesn’t really work like that. I think it was a great learning experience for all of us, especially myself. We were able to take that and apply it to today.”

From the start of the game, the energy the Dodgers were looking for was evident. After Jack Flaherty made quick work of the Mets’ offense in the first inning, the Dodgers were ready to pounce against right-hander Kodai Senga.

Quickly realizing that Senga didn’t have his command -- only 10 of his 30 pitches were strikes -- the Dodgers were patient against the Japanese right-hander. That helped them earn three consecutive walks, giving them an opportunity to strike early.

Lack of hitting with runners in scoring position, especially early in games, was the biggest criticism the Dodgers faced the last few postseasons, but that hasn’t been an issue this October. This time, it was Max Muncy who came through with a two-out, two-RBI single to give Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in the first.

“We knew he had limited pitches for today’s game,” said Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández. “He’s building up. He’s not ready to go far into the game. It was just trying to execute what we were planning before the game and trying to make him work early and put up runs early in the game so we can have a good chance of beating them.”

The Dodgers were far from done attacking the Mets’ pitching staff. In the second, Shohei Ohtani continued his dominance with runners in scoring position, smoking an RBI single past a diving Pete Alonso at first. Ohtani is now 16-for-his-last-19 with runners in scoring position, dating back to the regular season.

“He’s the best player on the planet,” said Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux. “I think, as you saw tonight, when there are guys out there, he’s getting it done, so it’s our job at the bottom to keep finding different ways to get on base, whether it’s bunting, walking, hitting, whatever it is.”

On Sunday, it was all of the above for the entire Dodgers’ lineup. In the fourth inning, Lux dropped down a sacrifice bunt after a Kiké Hernández leadoff single. It was the first sacrifice bunt of Lux’s career. After that, Tommy Edman, Ohtani and Freddie Freeman all delivered run-scoring hits, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 6-0 through four innings.

In the eighth, it was Betts’ turn to get in on the action with a bases-loaded double. All nine Dodgers starters were able to reach base safely at least once, and the Dodgers have now scored 23 runs since last allowing one.

“You’re facing the best pitchers in the game [in the postseason],” said Freeman. “So to score runs, multiple runs, we had a good approach, we walked a lot, capitalized on some mistakes and thought we did a good job overall.”

The nine runs were more than enough for a Dodgers pitching staff that has now tossed three consecutive shutouts, extending their scoreless streak to 33 innings, matching a Major League postseason record. Flaherty accounted for seven of those frames, the best performance of his Dodger career. Behind him, Daniel Hudson and Ben Casparius put up two more zeroes.

After falling down 2-1 to the Padres in the NLDS, the Dodgers have put together three of their best games of the season -- all shutouts. It’s the level of baseball they have been waiting for, and it’s all starting to come together for them at the right time.

“I think after an intense series like the last one where you play with a lot of energy, we were aware that you can definitely fall into a little lull and come out flat,” Edman said. “So we really made it a priority to come out with that energy and really take it to them.”