Why Jack Flaherty's gem is more than just a Game 1 win for the Dodgers

LOS ANGELES — Before Jack Flaherty took the mound Sunday night, he noticed his mother taking her place behind home plate. In the crowd, a group of his longtime friends from Sherman Oaks Little League offered their support.

When he started his childhood team in the playoffs for the second time, he felt comfortable.

Eleven years after the Harvard-Westlake junior pitched seven scoreless innings in the Southern Section Division I championship game at Dodger Stadium, the local product was back on the same mound doing the same thing, just with vastly different stakes and circumstances.

Instead of bringing his high school team a championship, Flaherty orchestrated the most consequential win of his eight-year big league career with seven shutout frames in the Dodgers' 9-0 National League Championship Series-opening win over the Mets.

“I’m sure every single one of us has done it and put ourselves in the scenario,” Flaherty said. “It’s the same, same game. You just have to look at it as fun and try not to make things bigger than they are and not get distracted by the fantasy.”

Flaherty's Game 1 highlight put the Dodgers on top of the series and ensured there would be no emotional disappointment after a spirited series against the rival Padres in which the Dodgers twice avoided elimination. It also entered his team's record books.

Sunday's win pushed the Dodger pitching team's consecutive scoreless innings streak to 33, tied with the 1966 Orioles for the most scoreless innings in MLB postseason history.

Equally important, it allowed manager Dave Roberts to save his arms.

Lacking starting pitching options, the Dodgers will have to resort to bullpen games at some point. This can be particularly stressful in a seven-game series.

Thanks to Flaherty's work, the Dodgers can now confidently use their top relievers in a Game 2 bullpen game Monday afternoon. With a day off on Tuesday, their substitutes can then reset, with Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto rested going into Games 3 and 4 in New York.

“Unbelievable,” Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech said. “We know we’re going to be relied upon a lot down there in the bullpen. We don't know exactly when that is or what it will be like, but we know there are games where we have to cover some innings.” For him to go out there and dominate Game 1 and only use two other arms, there is “There are no real words for it.”

For the past two years, the Dodgers have been unusually denied starting pitching in October. It doomed them in 2023. This year the pitching staff made it work.

In a crucial Game 4 in San Diego, eight relievers pitched a shutout. The bullpen was crucial again in the deciding Game 5 after Yamamoto pitched five scoreless innings with four more flawless frames.

But at some point, especially in a seven-game series, the Dodgers needed length from a starter. Your valuable deadline acquisition has been delivered.

“This is certainly a childhood dream for him and his family,” Roberts said. “You just feel like he can handle this market, handle pitching in a playoff game and start a playoff game.”

In the hours and days leading up to the trade deadline, the Dodgers had some back and forth with Detroit over Flaherty before moving on to other fronts, thinking the Tigers would go in a different direction. With less than an hour to go, Detroit was back Los Angeles Front office. The Dodgers got the frontline starter they wanted.

At that point, they assumed Flaherty would be an addition to their postseason rotation. Instead, with Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone out this year, he has become essential.

Before Flaherty's masterpiece, the Dodgers hadn't even gotten six innings from a starting pitcher in their last 20 playoff games. The last person to do so was Max Scherzer in Game 3 of the 2021 NLDS. This year, the Dodgers also avoided elimination against a division opponent by winning two consecutive crucial games in the NLDS to advance. But they had also used up all their energy in the counterattack. They then lost the first two games of the NLCS to the Braves.

On Sunday, Flaherty's flawless work ensured a more promising start to the NLCS, fulfilling a childhood dream.

“Usually I've managed to stay on top of things no matter what, even if it's the end of a trip,” Flaherty said.

This time with a standing ovation from 53,503 fans of his favorite childhood team?

“Yeah,” Flaherty admitted, “it’s hard not to smile.”

When he tried to stay grounded in his second playoff start with the Dodgers on Sunday, the familiar sights in the crowd helped him.

As a child, Flaherty attended Dodgers games and sat on the reserve level with his mother, Eileen. In 2015, then in the Cardinals' pro ball system, the first-round pick returned to Dodger Stadium with his little brother to watch the NLDS. He was there when Chase Utley broke Ruben Tejada's leg on a hard slide, and he was there the night before when Jacob deGrom pitched seven scoreless innings.

Nine years later, Flaherty delivered the same performance.

Max Muncy gave him an early lead with a two-run double in the first inning, bringing home a tied-up Freddie Freeman from second base. The first baseman had a smile on his face as he touched home plate with his good foot. Slipping can cause problems for his sprained right ankle, as can abrupt stops. Instead, he ran into the arms of a waiting Mookie Bed to slow his pace.

The Dodgers continued in the second with an RBI single by Shohei Ohtani. They jumped over Kodai Senga, who had no control. When they got three more hits in the fourth inning, it was a loss.

Flaherty thought he tried too hard in the last few outings. He felt relaxed in front of friends and family. His defense behind him was impeccable. The Mets only lined up four baserunners against him and didn't help themselves when they got their few chances. Their best came in the beginning of the fifth inning, when they got two singles off Flaherty early in the frame, but Jesse Winker was caught out at third base.

Flaherty then retired the final eight batters he faced. The Dodgers have now outscored their opponents 23-0 since the Padres scored six runs against them in Game 3 of the NLDS.

“It was just a pitching clinic,” Roberts said.

When Flaherty walked back to the dugout after his 98 throws, Ohtani was waiting to slap his hand from the top step. Roberts hugged the pitcher. So did one of his childhood idols.

That game Flaherty played in in 2015 when deGrom threw seven shutout innings? It was against Clayton Kershaw, who scored eleven goals in this performance. Five years later, Kershaw struck out 13 batters in eight scoreless innings in a wild-card game against the Brewers en route to the Dodgers championship.

Kershaw's 2020 appearance marked the last time a Dodgers pitcher threw at least seven shutout innings in a playoff game – until Sunday.

“To get a hug from him afterwards and show me it was a really good job is special,” Flaherty said. “Things you can’t invent.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the LA Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. Rowan, an LSU graduate, was born in California, grew up in Texas and then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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