NLCS Game 3 Preview: Key Storylines as Dodgers Face Mets at Citi Field

This article is compiled from 5 top storylines to follow as NLCS moves to Queens

Citi Field last hosted the National League Championship Series (NLCS) on October 19, 2015, when Daniel Murphy hit a home run in his fourth consecutive game, eventually extending the streak to six; Noah Syndergaard was the starting pitcher that day, and he teamed up with Jon Niese, Addison Reed, Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia to shut out the Cubs, who hadn’t won a World Series championship in more than 100 games. year, and rookie first baseman Kris Bryant.

This Thursday (October 17th, Taiwan time), after the victory of the New York Mets in Los Angeles on Tuesday to tie the series 1-1, the Los Angeles Dodgers will visit New York and once again lead to the Championship Game the National League at Citi Field. Mets fans have been preparing for this moment for almost a decade, and even the entire Hoboken ground is expected to shake for this game.

Here are five things to watch as these two teams battle for the lead in the NFC Championship Series.

1. What should the Dodgers expect from Buehler?

The Dodgers basically had no choice but to go to a bullpen day in Game 2, but as Mark Vientos hit the ball hard out of Dodger Stadium, the end result wasn’t ideal. While Buehler will be on the mound in Game 3, theoretically giving the Dodgers a traditional starting pitcher, it’s worth noting: Given Buehler’s recent performance, the Dodgers can’t be sure that this game will turn into another bullpen battle.

For Buehler, this season has been disappointing since he returned from Tommy John surgery. He went 1-6 in 16 regular season starts with a 5.38 ERA, nothing like the form that saw him selected to the All-Star Game twice and finish fourth in the 2021 NL Cy Young Award voting. This carried into Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Padres, where Buehler was allowed six runs in the second inning Although he lasted five innings, he struggled to pitch: he ended up allowing seven hits, the biggest concern was the lack of one strikeout. He should be lucky not to have lost more points.

How many runs are the Dodgers willing to sacrifice in exchange for a few innings of Buehler pitching? And how bad is the Dodgers’ rotation that we have to get a chance to discuss this issue?

With three games in a row over the next three days, manager Dave Roberts avoided most of the bullpen in the first two games, giving him something to move Buehler out of quickly. it would struggle again “Replace”.

2. Will Francisco Lindor dominate the game again?

The Mets showed early in Game 2 that they had put their first loss behind them. Lindor, who was leading the way, eventually hit Carter’s 90-mile ball over the right field wall for a home run after facing tough pitches from Ryan Brasier. Not only did this home run end the Dodgers streak of 33 consecutive scoreless innings, but it also made everyone feel strongly about the Mets in the past two weeks. The Mets are looking back to the familiar.

It’s no surprise that Lindor is the best way to turn this series around, just like he turned around the Mets’ entire season. Over the next three days, he was the only player to hear “MVP!” every time he went into the battery box, and it wasn’t hard to see why.

Further reading:Not only the MVP favorite, but also a worthy leader: How can Francisco Lindor lead the New York Mets to turn their season around?

3. Can the Dodgers’ MVPs bounce back?

The reason Lindor couldn’t win his first MVP award happened to be on the other side of this series. Shohei Ohtani is one of three former MVP winners in the Dodgers lineup, with the other two Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman playing through injury. However, it must be noted that the trio fell into a slump in the second game, with a combined 12 at-bats, 0 hits, and 6 strikeouts. (If you can get all three of these to perform like this in one game, you should be awarded a medal.)

Of course, that wasn’t quite the same as an outright ban: they still got three rounds together. But the Dodgers failed to make the Mets pay for those walks.

But what is surprising is that this postseason, Shohei Ohtani’s batting record is 19 at-bats and 0 hits with the bases empty (this is a big problem for the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter). The key for New York is to keep the bases empty. The Dodgers’ offense has relied heavily on their firepower all season, and they simply can’t afford such a general letdown in the early at-bats. .