How to watch the Dodgers at Mets series, an NLCS rematch starring Shohei Ohtani and Pete Alonso
We're getting a top-shelf series across three national TV broadcasts, with the Los Angeles Dodgers' loaded bats visiting the New York Mets and their lights-out pitching. Two of the best teams in the National League and two of the biggest payrolls in baseball show out this weekend.
Coming into Friday, three Dodgers pace the National League in different offensive outputs. Shohei Ohtani is tied for first in home runs (with Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber) and first alone in runs scored; Freddie Freeman leads in batting average and slugging percentage; Will Smith has the top OBP. That trio is demanding enough on opponents, but LA puts out additional All-Star-level talents in Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández. Not for nothing, Andy Pages is on pace for 30 homers.
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The strength-on-strength draw puts these big barrels against New York's elite mound work. The Mets hit Flushing on Friday with a league-best 2.82 team ERA, and all three probable starters have sub-3 ERAs through the first quarter of the season.
Series-opening RHP Griffin Canning (5-1, 2.47 ERA) has allowed two or fewer runs in seven of his eight starts, though he gave up two homers to the Yankees in his last outing. Saturday's starter is David Peterson (2-2, 2.86 ERA). The southpaw has also been sharp this year, though he surrendered four walks to the Yanks last weekend. Right-hander Kodai Senga (4-3, 1.43 ERA) is slated to go on 'Sunday Night Baseball.' His offspeed stuff is in MLB's 95 percentile. The Japanese ace has ample experience against Ohtani, dating back to 2013 in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
The other side of this matchup is a bit less impressive — the Mets are hovering around league average in scoring, and the defending champs' collective 4.16 ERA ranks No. 22 in MLB. Still, there are generational names to appreciate here.
Pete Alonso is on his way toward a fifth All-Star nod in seven pro seasons. Francisco Lindor, the runner-up to Ohtani in last year's NL MVP voting, is at a 30-HR, 30-SB pace. And Queens gets especially rowdy for Juan Soto, despite the relative slump to start his Mets career. They'll all get to face Clayton Kershaw, former MVP and three-time Cy Young winner. The 37-year-old lefty was rocked in his season debut against the crosstown Angels (five hits and five earned runs in four innings). He'll try to get right on Friday night. Saturday's starter, RHP Tony Gonsolin (2-0, 4.05 ERA), is still working his way back from 2023 Tommy John surgery. Fellow righty and Sunday probable Landon Knack will be tasked with eating innings until LA's rotation gets healthy.
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Dodgers-Mets from the NYT archives, 20 years ago:
'For seven and a third innings, Pedro Martínez soothed the Mets and successfully distracted them. Players thought less about their injured teammates Mike Cameron and Carlos Beltran than the status of Martínez's blossoming no-hit bid. Perhaps they began to visualize their wretched Southern California swing concluding with a pile at the mound.
But with one out in the eighth inning, on the brink of a no-hitter and a Hollywood ending, Martínez and the Mets received one more kick in the shins. The Dodgers followed their first hit with their second, and that was implausibly enough for a 2-1 victory. Martínez gave up two hits and took the hardest-luck loss imaginable.'
40 years ago:
'The attraction tonight was Dwight Gooden and Fernando Valenzuela, but their work was finished by the time the game was decided. Darryl Strawberry sliced a double just inside the left-field line, scoring two runs in the 13th inning to give the Mets a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.'
Starting lineup of best players to wear both jerseys:
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani and Pete Alonso: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
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