The New York Mets are headed home with momentum in the 2024 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets jumped all over Dodgers pitching in Game 2, scoring six runs in the first two innings, starting with Francisco Lindor's lead-off home run in the first and punctuated with Mark Vientos' grand slam in the second.
Now, with the series even at a game apiece, the next three games are at Citi Field, starting Wednesday. New York, which clinched a playoff spot in a makeup doubleheader the day after the regular season was scheduled to end, now has home-field advantage in what has become a best-of-five to advance to the World Series.
Luis Severino (1-0, 4.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 10K, 2BB in 2024 postseason) gets the start for the Mets against Walker Buehler for the Dodgers (0-1, 10.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 0K, 1BB) in Game 3.
Buehler posts a 1-2-3 inning, and that will likely do it for him after four scoreless inning and 90 pitches. His command was off, and he got into trouble a few times, but the Dodgers will take that, given how he has looked in other games.
It's still 2-0 Dodgers through four in New York.
Jack Baer
#Dodgers Dave Roberts on FOX broadcast says Walker Buehler is "grinding" and he's "just trying to squeeze out 3 more hitters." Look for Michael Kopech when it gets back to top of Mets lineup
Luis Severino works a low-stress fourth to keep it 2-0. Pitch counts are significant right now, with Severino at 79 through four and Buehler at 73 through three. With three games in three days, this is an important day for bullpen preservation.
Jack Baer
Walker Buehler works around a couple of baserunners to post a scoreless third. He is the biggest X-factor of this game and possibly the whole series, and he is succeeding so far.
Jack Baer
Severino loads the bases but gets out of the jam with a soft lineout by Teoscar Hernandez and a groundout from Gavin Lux. It's still 2-0 Dodgers, and it could have been much worse.
Luis Severino opens the third by walking Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, and the Dodgers are threatening again with no outs. Severino gets a visit from the pitching coach.
Jack Baer
The biggest at-bat of the game (so far) ends with Francisco Lindor striking out with the bases loaded. A huge relief for Walker Buehler, and it's still 2-0 Dodgers.
And now a walk of Tyrone Taylor to load the bases. Buehler melted down under similar circumstances in the second inning of his NLDS start. We'll see if this one goes south, too.
Jack Baer
And now the Mets are threatening after a defensive misplay by the Dodgers. Tommy Edman bobbles a potential double-play ball, then loses it again on the bounce to give New York two on with one out.
Jack Baer
Dodgers 2, Mets 0
Tyrone Taylor makes an incredible play at the warning track — while narrowly avoiding disaster on a collision with Starling Marte — to rob Tommy Edman of extra bases.
However, the runner from third still scores, so the Dodgers get another run.
On a nine-pitch at-bat, Will Smith fights back from down 0-2 and scores a run on a comebacker to Severino. The Dodgers haven't hit it out of the infield this inning, but they now have the lead.
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez gets a little too aggressive there. Teoscar Hernandez hit a swinging bunt, and Alvarez tried to throw out Max Muncy, who walked, at second rather than taking the easy out at first, but the throw was off.
Both runners are safe, and now the Dodgers have two on with none out.
Jack Baer
Walker Buehler responds with a scoreless first inning, with a two-out infield single from Brandon Nimmo providing the first hit of the game. Buehler looked good in the first inning of his last start against the Padres before it all went south, though.
Jack Baer
Luis Severino gets through the vaunted top of the Dodgers lineup with a 1-2-3 first inning, with strikeouts of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman (though the last strike on Betts would have been ball 4 with a robo ump). We call that a good start.