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The series of the season is kicking off later tonight in Citified as the the New York Mets host the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first of a 3-game set tonight.
Coming into the series the Metropolitans and Dodgers no longer just dominate the National League, but extend their prowess to the entire Majors, where both teams boast the two best records in the league, with Mets being tied with the Astros for second-best. Coming into the
game, the Mets are on a 103-win pace. 100 is more than just a number for the Kings of Queens. They managed to rack up 100+ wins 3 times in franchise history, two of which were the only seasons they won the World Series.
Implications of this series extend beyond the National League. Rounding out the season, these 3 games are a litmus test for the Mets to see if they have the chops to win it all. The Dodgers are world-beaters by every metric, so the task will be tough.
The Dodgers are coming off a 106-game season last season, tied for a franchise best. This year they’re on pace for an obscene 113. The Dodgers have outscored opponents by 285 runs, already eclipsing their mark from the 2021 year where they reigned terror in the regular season. No doubt, they have been the best team in the league in the second half of the season. Dominating the game while on offense, since the All Star Game, the Dodgers are leading the Majors in runs, hits, RBI, are second in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, and third in total home runs.
Lucky for the Mets they can counter this with arguably the best pitching rotation in the league. Scherzer is unlikely to pitch in the series, but the Mets are in good hands with Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker, and Chris Bassitt projected to start.
The issue extends far beyond the hitting of “The Blue Crew,” as the Dodgers are an elite two-way team. As good of batters they possess, their pitchers might be more dangerous. In the second half of the season, they far-and-away lead the league in hits and runs allowed. As a team, their opponent batting average is an absurd 2.52 in the second half– for reference, second place Houston Astros are a very distant 3.18. Teams cannot score on the Dodgers, posting a 2.83 ERA for the season, the second best ERA by a team over the course of a season in the LAST 40 SEASONS. The Mets, coming off a shutout loss to the Rockies on Sunday, so a scoring concern is high on the minds of the Big Apple team.
Although titans among the league, the Orange and Blue play this series with their backs against the wall, with their lead in the NL East down to a measly 3-games. With the Braves at their heels, the Mets go into this home set against the Dodgers with the fear of falling into the Wild Card race, so rest assured they will fight to make this one of the most tense series league-wide of the year.
First game slated for 7:10 PM eastern tonight with Taijuan Walker on the mound for the Metropolitans and Andrew Heaney will start for the Dodgers.
