The Los Angeles Dodgers closed the door on the New York Mets’ playoff journey on Sunday night, coming away with a resounding 10-5 win in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series and punching their ticket to the 2024 World Series.
Dodgers’ bullpen helped advanced them to the 2024 World Series
The Dodgers played by committee on the mound yet again, with seven bullpen pitchers contributing toward the win. Ben Casparius and Anthony Banda kept the Mets off the scoreboard entirely from the second inning until midway through the fourth, before Ryan Brasier gave up two runs. Evan Phillips also held the Mets scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, and Blake Treinen characteristically closed the show resoundingly, only conceding an RBI single off of Jeff McNeil’s bat in the ninth inning once things were all but done.
Dodgers got stellar play from key sluggers deep in their batting order
At the plate, Troy Edman was the player of the game. He put the Dodgers up early with a big two-run double that drove Shohei Ohtani and Teoscar Hernandez home in the bottom of the first inning. Edman followed that up with a home run in the third inning that gave Los Angeles a 4-1 cushion. He finished the day with a team-high four RBIs and was one of four Dodgers sluggers to clock in multiple hits on the affair.
Encouragingly for L.A., Will Smith got back on the right side of things after experiencing struggles throughout the NLCS. Los Angeles’ valued catcher smacked a 416-foot home run to center field in the third inning. Thanks to him, the Dodgers were able to forge a 6-1 lead and a gap they did not let the Mets close the rest of the way.
The Dodgers will be pushed to the limit in the WS against the New York Yankees
The Dodgers are now in the World Series for the second time in the last five years. They were crowned as champions the last time they clinched a World Series berth in 2020. Los Angeles will face the most daunting test of their entire season when they take on the New York Yankees for this year’s title.
The Yankees (94-68) finished with the best record in the American League in the regular season. They only have two losses in these playoffs — one coming in their ALDS clash with the Kansas City Royals and another against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS that went extra innings. The Yankees have been battling for a World Series crown since 2017 and have reached the final round of the postseason for the first time in the Aaron Judge era.
Thus, the Dodgers will need to ensure that their pitching is sound and that their sluggers toward the end of their order play up to snuff akin to the way they did in Game 6 against the Mets. The Yankees are perhaps the hungriest team for a World Series win in recent memory and will come ready to strike first blood. The World Series will begin on Oct. 25, which will give L.A. a much-needed break for banged-up stars like Freddie Freeman (ankle) and Gavin Lux (hip) to recover from their ailments.
