The Dodgers are headed to the World Series! NLCS Game 6 takeaways, analysis
The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it — they’re headed to the World Series.
One day after the New York Yankees punched the first ticket to the World Series, beating the Cleveland Guardians in 10 innings, the Dodgers defeated the New York Mets in resounding fashion in their return to Dodger Stadium to secure the NLCS Game 6 win, advancing to the Fall Classic and ending the Mets’ magical playoff run.
We’ve got it all covered for you, from live updates and analysis from the game to takeaways after the final pitch.
Takeaways
Dodgers win series 4-2
In the end, it didn’t matter who the Dodgers put on the mound — they had more than enough offense to overcome any pitching obstacles on the way to another World Series appearance. Newcomers Shohei Ohtani and Tommy Edman (a mid-season addition) led the way, combining for five RBIs and four hits in the decisive Game 6 win. The Dodgers scored at least seven runs in all of their victories in the series — and six more in one of their two losses.
Waves of offense came at the Mets, taking down their top starters as Sean Manaea had his worst outing of the postseason on Sunday. Same goes for Luis Severino and Jose Quintana, both of whom pitched earlier in the series. The onslaught ended a magical run by the Mets, who now have major free agent decisions to make — starting with first baseman Pete Alonso and ending with the three aforementioned pitchers. They fought valiantly, but in the end this was about the Dodgers, not the Mets. The former team was just too much for New York at the plate.
Looking ahead to the World Series: Los Angeles’ win sets up a dream matchup with the New York Yankees. The teams used to face each other often in the Fall Classic, but this will be the first time since 1981. The likely two MVP’s of each league, Ohtani and Aaron Judge, will take center stage while supporting players like Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Giancarlo Stanton and Freddie Freeman — assuming he’s healthy enough to play — will bring additional star power. It says a lot that any of those all-world talents would be overshadowed by other players, but Judge and Ohtani are what this series is about. — Jesse Rogers