Heading into Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers were three scoreless outs away from setting an MLB record.
A leadoff home run from New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor ruined the bid, however.
Entering Monday, the Dodgers had pitched 33 straight scoreless innings, an NL postseason record, tying the 1966 Baltimore Orioles for the MLB record. One more scoreless inning against the Mets and Los Angeles would have owned the mark all by itself.
“Certainly the players that were involved in all those scoreless innings have been fantastic, and I think defensively, we’ve been very good at converting outs when we need to,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the team's 9-0 victory in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.
“I think the coaches have done a great job of relaying the information and making it tangible and allowing for our pitchers and catchers to do a great job of sequencing, catching the ball the right way. And the front office, just the information we get. I just think that how we’re preventing runs, it’s a complete team effort.”
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After they gave up six runs in the bottom of the second to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the NL Divisional Series, 12 Los Angeles pitchers combined to throw 33 shutout innings. The stingy effort allowed the Dodgers to come back from a 2-1 hole against the Padres, shutting them out in the last two games of the series before doing the same to the Mets on Sunday.
In addition to becoming one of only three teams to pitch three straight postseason shutouts, Los Angeles pitchers also combined to throw a perfect game within the streak. Beginning in Game 5 of the NLDS through the third inning of Game 1 of the NLCS, the Dodgers retired 28 straight batters. (Lindor broke that streak, as well, by walking in the top of the fourth.)
The streak had largely quieted two of the loudest offenses from the regular season. San Diego led all MLB teams with a .263 batting average. The Padres and the Mets ranked sixth and ninth in OPS, respectively. They were also seventh and eighth in runs scored.
Los Angeles did all of that amid injuries to a sizable chunk of its pitching staff.
All-Star starter Tyler Glasnow has out since August. Gavin Stone, who led the team in starts in the regular season, was shut down in September and has undergone shoulder surgery. Longtime starter Clayton Kershaw has an injured toe. Joe Kelly, a member of the 2020 World Series team, is out. And though he has been hitting, Shohei Ohtani isn’t pitching as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
