The Bizarre Blowouts of the 2024 NLCS: Dodgers Lead Mets

The 2024 National League Championship Series has earned the unusual moniker “The Blowout Series” due to its unprecedented string of one-sided games. Baseball fans expecting tight competition have instead witnessed a series that has defied expectation, with each game resulting in substantial margins of victory.

As the series stands, the Los Angeles Dodgers lead the New York Mets 3-2, yet the journey to this point has been noteworthy for the sheer lack of nail-biting finishes. Dodgers victories have been especially dominant; for instance, in their three wins, they outscored the Mets 27-2, according to sources from The Athletic. In contrast, the Mets’ Game 5 win on Friday came with a 12-6 scoreline, pushing the series back to Los Angeles.

Players from both teams have expressed bewilderment at the nature of the series. Mets reliever Ryne Stanek, a seasoned postseason veteran, commented, “You can’t really expect anything, because if you do, just the opposite is going to happen. It’s wild.” Fellow teammate Francisco Lindor was similarly surprised by an unusual occurrence in Game 5, where the Mets managed to avoid striking out in the entire game, a feat nearly unheard of in the modern era of baseball.

Statistical data underscores the rarity of such a series. According to STATS Perform, this NLCS has seen a combined margin of 35 runs after five games, a phenomenon that has occurred only once before in a best-of-seven series. That historical precedent was the 1960 World Series between the Pirates and Yankees. The average margin of victory stands at seven runs per game, reminiscent of the 1999 ALDS between the Red Sox and Indians, which had an average of 7.4 runs.

In addition to the overall team performances, individual players like Shohei Ohtani have made notable contributions, with his homer in Game 4 setting the tone for yet another blowout by the Dodgers. If the series continues in this vein, it may produce the most lopsided results in postseason history, eclipsing series from both the ALCS and World Series of past decades.

The dynamics of this series were unexpected, given the Mets’ previous series characterized by close encounters and last-minute heroics. They previously bested the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies in tightly contested matches. However, the Dodgers’ formidable lineup, featuring stars like Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and the exceptional Shohei Ohtani, combined with a talented bullpen, has maintained their position at the top.