In revealing their starting pitchers for Games 1 and 2 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday, the New York Mets revealed their biggest advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Right-hander Kodai Senga will start Game 1 on Sunday in Los Angeles. Left-hander Sean Manaea will start Game 2 on Monday.
NEWS: Kodai Senga is the Mets’ NLCS Game 1 starter.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 12, 2024
The Dodgers have yet to announce their starters for either game, with manager Dave Roberts expected to address the media later Saturday.
Manaea has two postseason starts already under his belt, Senga one. Right-hander Luis Severino and left-hander Jose Quintana are the Mets’ obvious candidates to start games 3 and 4 when the best-of-seven series shifts back to Queens on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Sean Manaea will pitch Game 2.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 12, 2024
Right-hander Jack Flaherty is all but assured of starting Game 1 for the Dodgers after he did not appear in their NLDS-clinching win over the San Diego Padres on Friday.
Beyond Flaherty, however, the Dodgers have some interesting choices to make.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 26: Kodai Senga #34 of the New York Mets greets teammates Francisco Lindor #12 and Mark Vientos #27 of the New York Mets after the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on July 26, 2024 in New York City. Senga will start Game 1 of the NLCS.
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw five shutout innings in the Dodgers’ series-clinching win over the Padres. However, he has not thrown on fewer than five days’ rest all season, his first since leaving Japan on a 12-year, $325 million contract.
Assuming that pattern continues, Yamamoto will not be available to the Dodgers any sooner than Game 4 of the series Thursday in New York. Yamamoto went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA in the regular season, when he was limited to 18 starts due to a shoulder injury. He was the Dodgers’ best individual starting pitcher in the NLDS round after correcting a pitch-tipping flaw in Game 1.
More news: Rookie Pitcher Was Tipping Pitches in Postseason Debut
Walker Buehler is the likeliest candidate to start Game 2 for the Dodgers on Monday. He would have five days’ rest following his most recent start Tuesday in San Diego, in which the right-hander allowed six runs in five innings.
That leaves open the question of who will start for the Dodgers in Game 3 on Wednesday in New York. Rookie Landon Knack (3-5, 3.65 ERA in 12 regular season starts) threw a scoreless inning in the Dodgers’ bullpen-game victory Wednesday in San Diego. Manager Dave Roberts could also deploy a bullpen game again.
In any event, starting pitching presents a clear advantage for the Mets in the series.
Through two rounds, New York’s four starters have combined for 31 innings across seven games. Other than Senga’s two-inning start against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the NLDS — his second start this season — the Mets are averaging more than 5.2 innings per start. Their starters have a collective 2.43 ERA in the postseason.
The Dodgers will lean more heavily on a bullpen that allowed only six runs in 24.1 innings against the Padres, a 2.22 ERA. Can their effectiveness continue if used heavily in a best-of-seven series? The answer might hold the key to who wins the NLCS.
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