The Dodgers still need three (scoreless) outs to make history against the Mets

Heading into Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers are three scoreless outs away from setting an MLB record.

Since Monday, the Dodgers have thrown 33 straight scoreless innings – an NL postseason record and tied with the 1966 Baltimore Orioles for the MLB record. One more scoreless inning against the New York Mets and Los Angeles would come out on top.

“Certainly the players that were involved in all those scoreless innings were fantastic, and I think defensively we were very good at converting outs when we needed to,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the 9-0 The team won 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 our pitchers and catchers to dictate the order and catch the ball the right way.” And that front Office, just the information we get. I just think the way we prevent runs is just a team effort.”

After giving up six runs to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the NL Divisional Series in the bottom of the second round, 12 Los Angeles pitchers combined to throw 33 shutout innings. The stingy effort allowed the Dodgers to recover from a 1-2 hole against the Padres and shut them out in the final two games of the series before doing the same to the Mets on Sunday.

In addition to being one of only three teams to post three straight postseason shutouts, the Los Angeles pitchers also combined for a perfect game within the streak. From Game 5 of the NLDS to the third inning of Game 1 of the NLCS, the Dodgers retired 28 batters in a row. (New York shortstop Francisco Lindor broke the streak by grounding out in the top of the fourth.)

The streak has silenced two of the loudest offenses of the regular season so far. San Diego led all MLB teams with a .263 batting average in 2024. The Padres and Mets ranked sixth and ninth in OPS, respectively. They also finished seventh and eighth in runs scored.

Los Angeles did all of this despite having a significant portion of its pitching staff injured.

All-Star starter Tyler Glasnow has been out since August. Gavin Stone, who led the team in starts during the regular season, was shut down in September and has since had shoulder surgery. Longtime starter Clayton Kershaw has a toe injury. Joe Kelly, a member of the 2020 World Series team, is out. And even though he's striking out, Shohei Ohtani isn't throwing as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.