A local kid comes home to pitch for his boyhood team, a homegrown talent returns seasoned with experiences and knowledge. Whatever description you want to use, this type of story is the stuff dreams originate.
In his eight-year career, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty has learned thousands of life lessons filled with both successes and failures. In his seven postseason appearances, Flaherty’s team has gone on to lose that game six times, including in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Padres in blowout fashion.
So as he walked off the mound to a standing ovation in the top of the seventh inning, having delivered seven shutout innings to give the Dodgers a 9-0 win over the New York Mets in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, he looked for his mom in the stands and smiled as he gave his manager Dave Roberts a big hug.
"It's hard not to smile about those things," Flaherty told NBC LA after the game of seeing his mom as he walked off the mound after the seventh inning. "Walking off the mound I'm usually able to keep it together...but its hard not to smile here. I was able to give my mom a hug, the way I've been able to since high school...I told her thanks for being here and supporting me. It's a dream come true."
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Flaherty was born in nearby Burbank, where he grew up going to Dodgers games with his family. He vividly remembers attending Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS between the Mets and Dodgers after graduating from Harvard-Westlake High School in 2015.
Jack Flaherty joining the @Dodgers will be a dream come true for the Burbank native 🥹
— MLB (@MLB) July 31, 2024
📸: @JackandGradyMom pic.twitter.com/vGzU1kW8BF
“I was here in 2015 against the Mets when Chase [Utley] went into Rubén Tejada hard,” said Flaherty of his fondest memories at Dodger Stadium. “I remember those playoff games. Those were a lot of fun.”
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Jack Flaherty attended Game 1 of the 2015 NLDS vs. the Mets at Dodger Stadium.
— MLB (@MLB) October 13, 2024
Tonight, he gets the start in Game 1 of the #NLCS against the Mets. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/e022rsS5Zk
Flaherty didn’t allow a base runner until the fourth inning, nor a hit until the 5th inning. His dominant performance gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the series, their first NLCS game at Dodger Stadium since 2021.
9 up, 9 down for Jack Flaherty. #NLCS pic.twitter.com/osKGqR0IIA
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024
"Jack put on a pitching clinic," said Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts of Flaherty's Game 1 performance. "I thought he did a great job of filling up the strike zone with his complete mix. Used his fastball when he needed to and minimized damage. Once we caught a lead, he did a great job of just going after those guys and attacking. For us to get seven innings in a long series was huge."
It’s hard to imagine where the Dodgers would be right now without Flaherty. Acquired at the MLB trade deadline from the Detroit Tigers, the 28-year-old right-hander ascended to the top of the totem pole in a starting rotation that has been riddled with injuries all season.
Without All-Star Tyler Glasnow, former MVP Clayton Kershaw, NL Rookie of the Year candidate Gavin Stone, and many other starters, the Dodgers have become even more dependent on Flaherty and his unflinching ferocity has proved the Dodgers gamble to be worth every penny.
"We got Jack at the perfect time," said Roberts about the Dodgers' acquiring him at the July 31st deadline. "He's a veteran player, he's been through a lot of highs, and lows, and found his way back. This is certainly a childhood dream for him and his family."
Flaherty mystified the Mets hitters on Sunday night, dotting his fastball, while simultaneously working in his knuckle-curve over seven scoreless innings with just two hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.
"We stuck to Jack's strengths and obviously knowing how to attack their hitters," said Dodgers' catcher Will Smith of Flaherty. "They're a good team. But we just executed pitches. Just mixed, and tried not to be predictable. Just go one pitch at a time, and he did a great job executing. It was fun for me to be back there seeing him work and be a part of that."
The fact that Flaherty and the Dodgers bullpen threw their third consecutive shutout in the playoffs should come as no surprise.
They tied the MLB record with 33 consecutive scoreless innings, drawing back to the third inning of Game 3 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres. The 33 consecutive scoreless innings ties the 1966 Baltimore Orioles who ironically shut out the Dodgers in the first three games of the World Series that year.
"Certainly the players that were involved in all those scoreless innings have been fantastic," said Roberts of the 33 consecutive scoreless innings streak. "I think defensively we've been very good, converting outs when we need to. I think the coaches have done a great job of relaying information and making it tangible and allowing for our pitchers and catchers to do a great job of sequencing, it's a complete team effort."
The Dodgers offense picked up where they left off on Friday in the decisive Game 5 of the division series.
Max Muncy delivered the first blow with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the first to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
Max Muncy delivers a two-run single! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/iJmj6zFPcO
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024
The Dodgers relentless offense only continued to pile on from there. Shohei Ohtani delivered an RBI single an inning later to extend the lead to 3-0.
Senga vs. Ohtani Round 2
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024
Advantage, Shohei Ohtani! pic.twitter.com/C6v99ZFrhF
They broke the game open with a string of hits in the bottom of the fourth off David Peterson.
Tommy Edman, Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman all hit RBI singles, giving the Dodgers a 6-0 lead.
Freddie Freeman makes it a 3-run inning for the @Dodgers! pic.twitter.com/R6vFIr84pH
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024
"It's all about playing our game," said Freeman. "It's not about letting our foot off the gas, but it's about keep applying pressure and keep going. We wanted to get Senga out of the game early and get to their bullpen. I thought we did an overall good job today."
Mookie Betts cleared the bases with a three-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning to make it 9-0.
Betts case scenario?
— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2024
9 runs in #NLCS Game 1! pic.twitter.com/mc6nQAUSVs
"I think we stayed on that high," said Betts of carrying over the momentum from Game 5 of the NLDS to Game 1 of the NLCS. "We didn't try and reset. Jack really gave us a boost today."
Sunday marked the fourth-ever meeting between the Dodgers and Mets in the MLB playoffs. The Dodgers last defeated the Mets in the 1988 NLCS en route to their sixth World Series title.
The Mets bested the Dodgers in the NLDS in 2006 and 2015, respectively.
This is the Dodgers seventh NLCS appearance since 2013, and their 16th since the League Championship Series was first introduced in 1969, most in the National League and second-most in MLB behind only the New York Yankees.
The Dodgers dominant pitching performance puts them three games away from their first World Series appearance since the bubble in Texas in 2020. But if you think this team is counting their chickens before they’re hatched, you don’t know the 2024 Dodgers.
“We’ve got to keep our fire and our intensity,” said Muncy. “That is something I’ve seen in the past where we’ve won a big series and then you move on to the next one and you let your guard down a little bit. So the biggest thing for us is to keep our fire and intensity. We’ve got to keep the same focus we had and we’ve got to go out there and execute the game plan just as we did in the previous series. As long as we keep doing what you want to do and prepare in the proper way and go out there with all the right tools then we trust in ourselves to move on.”
Game 2 of the best-of-seven NLCS between the Mets and Dodgers is scheduled for Monday, October 14th with first pitch at 1:08PM PT.
