Mets Will Even Series Behind Quintana

Dodgers vs. Mets, 8:08 ET

I have to wonder how much the executives in baseball are thanking their lucky stars that they have three major market teams in the Championship Series. Not only do they have that going for them, but they have arguably the two biggest stars in the game still alive. The business side comes into play a lot in other sports, but with something like basketball, the most marketable stars are often the best, and they usually carry a team. For a decade, Mike Trout was the best player but didn't sniff the World Series. We enter Game 4 here and have some great baseball going on between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets.

The Dodgers, one of the aforementioned major media market teams, are now up 2-1 after a commanding 8-0 victory last night. The team didn't quite blitz the Mets pitching right away, although Shohei Ohtani, the biggest star in the game that I mentioned previously, did swing at the first pitch of the game, looking to immediately take the crowd out of it. Instead, it was a grounder to first base and kind of pumped up the crowd, getting him out in one pitch. Unfortunately, that was basically all the Mets had to cheer about as they went down 2-0 in the next inning as the Dodgers turned a leadoff walk and questionable fielding decisions by the Mets into runs. After struggling in Game 2, the Dodgers pitching staff went back to what they have been doing - turning in a bunch of blanks on the scoreboard. Tonight, they hand the ball to Game 5 hero, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. As mentioned, he was great in his Game 5 start against the Padres. He went five innings, allowed two hits and no runs. The Dodgers were reportedly expecting him to get them two or three innings, but he was dealing and only needed 63 pitches to get through the five frames. Tonight he takes on the Mets, a team that hit him fairly well early in the season as he was still trying to figure things out. He did produce a quality start for the Dodgers in that game, going six innings, allowing three earned runs (four total) and striking out nine hitters.

Feb 28, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) pitches during the third inning against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets are looking to get even here and keep the dream of a subway series with the Yankees alive. One thing that I will give the team credit for is that they really don't ever look like they are down and out anything. They seem to be one of those "teams of destiny" where even when things look bleak, they have hope and something good happens for them. Obviously yesterday didn't look good, and this is now the second game of three that they've been shut out in. That's not a great omen for them in the series, but when the bats for the Mets get cooking, good things are happening. In Game 2, they set the tone early, being aggressive and scoring early. The momentum for the game before the first pitch was completely with the Dodgers. After the first hitter, Francisco Lindor, sent the ball over the fence, the momentum went back with the Mets. Tonight they look to have Jose Quintana save the day for them. Quintana has pitched in big games before and should be looked at as a reliable starter tonight as well. He has made two postseason starts for the Mets now and allowed no earned runs over 11 innings of work. He has only allowed six hits and three walks, as well as one unearned run. He faced the Dodgers earlier in the season as well and allowed three earned runs over six innings, including two homers, in a 3-0 loss. 

I've said all along this has the feeling of a zig-zag series. Yamamoto looked great in his last start, but there is a big difference between pitching with the crowd behind you, and the crowd against you. Quintana is dealing right now and if he can get through the first inning scoreless, I think he has a chance to go deep into this one and hold the Dodgers at-bay. I'll back the Mets to win this game at +120. 

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