It was a successful day for both New York teams in the Major League Baseball playoffs on Friday. The New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 12-6 in game five of the National League Championship Series to stay alive in the postseason. That series now shifts to southern California with the Dodgers continuing to lead the best out of seven series three games to two. Then Friday night in Cleveland, the New York Yankees took a commanding three games to one series lead over the Cleveland Guardians after an 8-6 game five win of the American League Championship Series at Cleveland’s Progressive Field. With a win on Saturday night, the Yankees are off to the World Series.
Inside Look at the Mets win
The Mets dominated the first three innings as they outscored the Dodgers 8-1. A turning point actually came in the top of the first inning, when Dodgers stolen base specialist Shohei Ohtani did not come home while being at third base on a Teoscar Hernandez ground out. In an interview with FOX Sports during the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was confused why Ohtani did not run, and said “he had a brain cramp and froze right there.”
The base running blunder gave the Mets momentum. Mets first baseman Pete Alonso of Tampa, Florida hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, and then generated five runs in the bottom of the third inning highlighted by two key extra base hits. Starling Marte of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic had a two-run double, while Francisco Lindor of Caguas, Puerto Rico had a RBI triple. Marte has four hits for the Mets.
Another key story was the fact that Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty struggled so much. After giving up zero earned runs in seven innings in game one against the Mets, he gave up eight runs in three games in game five. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, one reason for Flaherty’s struggles was his fastball, as he was struggling with his velocity.
Inside Look at the Yankees Win
The Yankees broke a 6-6 tie in the top of the ninth inning thanks to key runs. The first was from an an error by Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio, and the second was on a RBI single by second baseman Gleyber Torres of Caracas, Venezuela. The Yankees also got home runs from right fielder Juan Soto of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, catcher Austin Wells of Scottsdale, Arizona and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton of Panorama City, California.
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