Dodgers and Mets: Two National League Titans Set to Clash
The Los Angeles Dodgers set sail to the East Coast to face off against the New York Mets in a 2024 National League Championship Series rematch that saw the Dodgers win in six games. The Dodgers will be looking to build off their series win over the Arizona Diamondbacks that saw a walk-off tie-up the series and revenge on Corbin Burnes in the rubber match after his shutout performance led to a Dodgers loss on May 10th. The Mets have struggled in their last two series with losses to the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. These two series losses have led to the Mets slipping out of first place in the NL East.
FRIDAY May 23rd - 4:10 p.m. PST
This series gets kicked off by Clayton Kershaw getting the nod for the Dodgers. Kershaw showed signs of rust in his first appearance against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, going just four innings, allowing five runs, five hits, walking three, and striking out just two batters. He carries an 11-0 record versus the Mets in his career in 17 appearances during the regular season with a 2.03 ERA. It’ll be interesting to see how the lefty attacks this Mets lineup, as it’ll be one of the best Met lineups on paper he has faced in his career. New York will roll out Griffin Canning, who has been one of the biggest surprises in all of baseball this year. He has pitched to a 5-1 record with a 2.47 ERA; he also carries a 2-1 record in his career against the Dodgers, even going 6.2 innings and recording seven strikeouts against these same Dodgers in 2024 as a member of the Angels.
SATURDAY May 24th - 4:15 p.m. PST
In Saturday night’s matchup, Tony Gonsolin gets the start for Los Angeles as he still tries to find his groove. Gonsolin struggled in his last start, which came against the same Angels that Kershaw previously struggled with, going just four innings, allowing four runs, walking five, and striking out three. The Mets will give David Peterson the start as Los Angeles will look to feast on this matchup, as they have hit Peterson very well throughout his career. In the regular season, he boasts a 5.74 ERA in four appearances, while the Dodgers exposed him in last year’s NLCS matchup, pitching six innings in two appearances with a six ERA. Although Peterson has had a good start to the year, recording a 2-2 record with a 2.86 ERA, history shows the Dodgers having the upper hand in this matchup.
SUNDAY May 25th - 4:00 p.m. PST
In the final game of this series, the Dodgers and Mets will play on ‘Sunday Night Baseball.’ The Dodgers will most likely have a bullpen game with Landon Knack projected to be the starter. Knack has struggled most of the year, mainly being an innings-eater kind of pitcher. In his lone appearance against the Mets in his career, it came in game two of the NLCS, where he pitched just two innings, allowing five runs. The Mets will trot out their ace Kodai Sengai, who has accumulated a 4-3 record with an impressive 1.43 ERA that ranks second in all of MLB.
What to Look for Offensively
In series like these, teams always want their top guys to perform; luckily for the Dodgers, the trio of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman have all hit the Mets particularly well. Ohtani comes into this series with a batting average of .361 with 13 hits, three home runs, 10 RBIs, and 11 runs scored in 10 games against the Mets in his career. Betts has a .303 batting average with 36 hits, five home runs, 22 RBIs, and 19 runs scored in 29 games in the regular season and playoffs against the Mets in his career. Lastly, Freeman carries a .303 batting average in 207 career games against New York. Expect these three to fuel the offensive fire in this series. Now, looking at the Mets, after a hot start offensively, the offense has simmered down drastically, having only scored at least five runs once in their last nine games. Their offense also ranks middle of the pack in most categories. Juan Soto, who was the marquee pickup, has not lived up to expectations so far this season; the Dodgers will look to contain Soto, Francisco Lindor, and Pete Alonso.
