Major League Baseball’s postseason will continue on Monday with two League Championship Series games. The Los Angeles Dodgers will attempt to build a 2-0 advantage over the New York Mets in the afternoon contest, while the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians kick off their best-of-seven series this evening.
Before the games can get underway, we here at CBS Sports wanted to preview the contests by asking (and attempting to answer) one question for each of the four squads. It’s a simple enough construct, right? So, without further ado, let’s get to it.
Mets: Can they avoid a 2-0 hole?
The concept of a “must-win game” has been stretched and misused to the point where it’s lost all meaning. Rest assured: Game 2 is not a must-win game for the Mets. It is, however, a pivotal one if New York wants to improve its chances of winning the NL.
Historically, MLB teams who have fallen behind 2-0 in a best-of-seven series have then lost said series more than 83% of the time, according to WhoWins. That still leaves some wiggle room, some precedent for a comeback should the Mets squander Game 2; just not a ton of it. “Must-win”? No. “Preferably win”? Yes.
It’ll be up to lefty Sean Manaea to ensure that the Mets’ cross-country flight to New York is a happy one. He’s seen his performance greatly improve since altering his mechanics in August to more closely resemble Braves left-hander Chris Sale’s.
Dodgers: What’s the plan?
The Dodgers have not named a starting pitcher for Game 2. Rather, manager Dave Roberts will turn to a Johnny Wholestaff arrangement, piecing together nine innings from his various relievers. You don’t have to turn to your imagination to figure out what, exactly, that may look like in motion. Oh no, that’s because the Dodgers employed this same approach during their NLDS against the Padres.
In Game 4, Roberts used eight different pitchers to go the distance. Six of those eight faced four batters apiece; only one of them, the now-injured Alex Vesia, faced more than five batters. In other words, expect Roberts to make plenty of trips to the mound throughout NLCS Game 2 if that is indeed the approach the Dodgers take.
It’s worth noting the Dodgers won NLDS Game 4 in blowout fashion, thereby making the strategy a moot point. Roberts can only hope for the same outcome on Monday.
Guardians: Is it Big Christmas time?
With the Yankees starting left-hander Carlos Rodón, we can only assume that the Guardians will have rookie righty-hitting outfielder Jhonkensy Noel in their lineup.
Noel hasn’t had a good postseason to date, going 0 for 13 with five strikeouts during Cleveland’s ALDS against the Tigers. Still, this seems like a favorable matchup and as good of an opportunity as any for Noel to validate us labeling him as a potential breakout player this October. Here’s what we wrote at the time:
Noel has a few factors working in his favor. First and foremost, his nickname is “Big Christmas.” More importantly (we suppose): he can hit the season’s greetings out of a baseball. While you wouldn’t know it if you only looked at his average exit velocity (around 89 mph), he boasts as much muscle as anyone in the sport. To wit, Noel has recorded two batted balls that cleared 115 mph at the big-league level. Down in Triple-A, he maxed out with a 118.4 mph double back in May. Only three qualified batters hit a ball harder than that this season: Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, and Oneil Cruz. That’s fine company to keep. Noel has his faults — he’s prone to striking out and he seldom walks — but he’ll be a made man if he gets into one this October.
Trust us when write that if Noel does get hold of one on Monday night, he stands a good chance of making a lasting impression in the minds of everyone watching.
Yankees: Can Rodón deliver?
The Yankees will pin their Game 1 hopes on veteran lefty Carlos Rodón, who enjoyed a rebound season of sorts this year after a rough first go-around in New York. Our question is whether or not Rodón can improve upon his first start this postseason, when he surrendered four runs on seven hits in an ALDS loss against the Royals.
Our Mike Axisa has expressed some skepticism about that possibility:
The Guardians were one of the best offenses against lefties during the regular season and one of the worst against righties. David Fry and hypothetical ALDS MVP Lane Thomas brutalize lefties, Jhonkensy Noel really gets to his power against lefties, and José Ramírez just had his best season against lefties. Cleveland struggles to hold its own against righties. They are in their element against lefties. It almost feels like the Yankees are doing the Guardians a favor by starting Rodón in Game 1, doesn’t it?
Weird things can happen in single-game settings. It’ll be up to Rodón to overcome what appears to be a tough matchup on paper and prove that point on Monday night.
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