MLB playoffs: ALCS, NLCS Friday takeaways, analysis
After tonight's thrilling games, two teams are one win away from the World Series -- though one of them remains exactly where it was before first pitch.
In Friday's opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to punch their ticket to the Fall Classic, falling to the New York Mets in Game 5 of the NLCS. They'll need to win one of two now as the series shifts back to L.A.
After another thrilling matchup in Cleveland, the New York Yankees are one win away from their first pennant since 2009 -- though the Cleveland Guardians didn't make it easy on them, clawing back to tie the score multiple times.
Relive all the action from both games, plus we've got you covered with takeaways and what's next for the winners and losers.
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Takeaways
New York Mets 12, Los Angeles Dodgers 6
Dodgers lead series 3-2
The Mets just won't go away. They took care of business against a less-than-sharp Jack Flaherty in Game 5, staving off elimination with an offensive onslaught. It started with Pete Alonso's three-run shot in the first inning -- he golfed one to center off his cleats -- then continued with a five-run third, finally chasing Flaherty. Perhaps if Dave Roberts had a quicker hook, the Dodgers might have been able to pull off a comeback, because their offense came alive thanks to Andy Pages, who homered twice. Instead, New York kept tacking on and forcing L.A. to respond. At one point, the visitors scored four straight runs thanks to Pages and Mookie Betts, who went deep as well, but that's as close as they would come. The story of the game was Flaherty. He had nothing just five days after shutting out the Mets over seven innings. Dodgers pitchers failed to strike out any Mets -- that's the first time a team has had zero K's in a playoff game since 2002.
What to watch in Game 6: The day off will do both bullpens some good, but the starting pitching advantage will swing to the Mets as they'll have Sean Manaea starting on an extra day of rest -- something sorely needed at this time of year. Think the Dodgers can't lose two straight at home? See last year's Phillies, who lost Games 6 and 7 to the Diamondbacks. The Mets have that same backs-against-the wall mojo. And they have Grimace! Of course, the Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani. It should be a good finish to a series featuring blowouts so far. -- Jesse Rogers
New York Yankees 8, Cleveland Guardians 6
Yankees lead series 3-1
It hasn't always been pretty in this ALCS. Heck, it has rarelybeen pretty. Yet amid the raggedness, we've ended up with a pair of dramatic, back-and-forth games in Cleveland. This time, though, there was no fairytale ending for the Guardians in Game 4, even after Cleveland erased a late four-run deficit to turn a tie score over to star closer Emmanuel Clase. For the second straight night, and the third time in the postseason, Clase failed to deliver -- and for a Guardians club working against deficits in both talent and experience, that's awfully tough to overcome. This time, there wasn't anything as dramatic as the back-to-back homers Clase gave up to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Instead, the Yankees nickeled-and-dimed Clase with three singles and were helped along by a Brayan Rocchio error for a winning two-run rally. Meanwhile, Aaron Boone turned to Tommy Kahnle to close the game after Luke Weaver struggled in Game 3 -- Kahnle got through the ninth and the Yankees are now one win away from their first pennant in 15 years.
What to watch in Game 5: The Yankees will hand the ball to Carlos Rodon, who shined in a Game 1 win that got the ALCS off to a fast start for New York. Rodon has vacillated between dominant and wild but expect him to be amped up when he comes out Saturday. Cleveland's Tanner Bibee, who struggled in Game 2, has to come out firing because an early Yankee advantage could quickly turn into a season-ending avalanche for the Guardians. -- Bradford Doolittle
