Jack

Flaherty

Flaherty didn’t excel in his final three regular-season starts or in his loss to the Padres a week ago, but he cruised tonight, even if he did give up nine hard-hit balls. He retired the first nine and the final eight batters he faced. The Mets’ lone real threat should have materialized in the fifth, but after collecting the team’s first hit of the game, Jesse Winker made a huge baserunning blunder on a second consecutive hit off the bat of Jose Iglesias, getting himself thrown out at third with no outs and the Mets down 6-0. Flaherty never allowed another baserunner afterwards. Game 2 will come Tuesday. Sean Manaea is starting for the Mets, while the Dodgers will likely go with a bullpen game after Flaherty’s long outing tonight.

No surprise here. The Dodgers haven’t named a starter for the second game Monday, but it’ll likely be Walker Buehler with a chance to make it a bullpen game. Flaherty gave up four runs in his start Sunday against the Padres in a loss, but he’s been the most consistent of the Los Angeles options. He’ll likely also start Game 5, if necessary.

The first three runs came on a pair of homers in the first two innings. Flaherty did a nice job after that, but he was tagged with more run after being pulled in the sixth. His velocity, down in his final two starts of the regular season, was back up tonight, as he averaged 93.6 mph with his fastball. It’s reason to be encouraged if he gets another opportunity; he’ll be available to work in a Game 5, potentially in relief of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

A Game 3 starter still hasn’t been revealed yet. The reasoning for the Dodgers going with Flaherty in Game 2 now is that he would be more accustomed to pitching with regular rest in a Game 5 if necessary.

It looks like the Dodgers trust Flaherty a little more than Yamamoto in a potential Game 5. A Game 3 starter was not revealed, though it’s expected that Walker Buehler would get the ball then. Landon Knack is the other option.

Flaherty has been excellent in 2024, so it’s not an upset to see him listed as the likely arm. That would give Flaherty the chance to work two games in the series if necessary, and he’ll likely be followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Landon Knack at this stage against whatever team the Dodgers square off against in the best-of-five series.

Flaherty tossed a scoreless first inning, then allowed two runs in to score on a walk, two hits, and a groundout in the second. He stranded two runners in scoring position in the third, then tossed a clean fourth inning before serving up a solo homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. in the fifth. Flaherty would be done after five frames, leaving with the game tied. The 28-year-old right-hander ends a fantastic bounce-back regular season with a 3.17 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 194/38 K/BB ratio across 162 innings.

Flaherty gave up homers to Jake Burger and Griffin Conine, but he could afford to in what ended up being a 20-4 game. He’s 6-2 with a 3.40 ERA in nine starts since joining the Dodgers. He’s set to face the Padres in his final regular-season start next week.

Flaherty gave up five hits, walked four and struck out four. So much for the pitcher’s duel. Flaherty didn’t look right from the jump in this one and ended up throwing 83 pitches in just three innings of work. The weather in Atlanta probably didn’t help as it was hard not to notice Flaherty’s jersey was waterlogged with sweat in the first inning. He’s 12-7 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 184 strikeouts in 151 innings this year. The 28-year-old right-hander is set to face the Marlins on the road next week.

He also walked none in a start of the first time since June 4. Flaherty moved to 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA in seven starts for the Dodgers. He’s probably going to be matched up against Chris Sale and the Braves on Saturday, which is one to look forward to.