The National League Championship Series begins on Sunday night with the New York Mets going up against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, etc. — big cities, big names and I have a Dodgers vs Mets parlay for Game 1 below.
Dodgers vs Mets Parlay for Game 1
- Kodai Senga 3+ Strikeouts (-110)
- Jesse Winker To Record A Hit (-115)
- Jack Flaherty 2+ Walks Allowed (-150)
Parlay Odds: +430 (DraftKings)
Remember to bet responsibly — this is a long shot for a reason.
Kodai Senga 3+ Strikeouts (-110)
We haven't seen Senga throw even eight innings amidst an injury riddled 2024 season, but in his 7 1/3 frames between the regular season and playoffs he's racked up a whopping 12 punchouts.
With nine strikeouts in the only career start he made against the Dodgers, which came last year as a rookie, I think it's time to fire up Senga's strikeout total once again.
The question in Game 1 will be one of length — Senga threw just 31 pitches against the Phillies when he returned from injury eight days ago, but I'm willing to stake my money here on the right-hander working a bit deeper into the game.
He pitched well enough in his lone appearance last round and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza should be incentivized to lean on his starter with his bullpen struggling.
Jesse Winker to Record a Hit (-115)
It seems like I'm the only one interested in showing love to the Wink Man, judging by the line which oddsmakers have set, but most of the time you're not right by being popular.
Winker leads all Mets in hits versus Jack Flaherty in his career by a wide margin, going 8-for-21 with five extra-base hits and a .310 xBA and .622 xSLG in those plate appearances. In the playoffs, he's registered a .373 xBA thus far.
There's so much to like here about Winker in this matchup, and best of all could be the fact that he's a .304 career hitter at Dodger Stadium in 12 career games.
He's been a huge contributor in several games during the playoffs and should star in this one — getting such a generous price like this is impossible to pass up.
Jack Flaherty 2+ Walks (-150)
The Dodgers' prized deadline acquisition has really struggled down the stretch, and the biggest reason why could be his lack of control.
Flaherty walked over 10% of the batters he faced in September, issuing two free passes in six of his final eight starts, and while he held the Padres to just one walk in his lone postseason start, he was roughed up by a team which loves to swing the bat.
The Mets have walked in over 10% of plate appearances during the postseason, and the last two starting pitchers to face them have now walked at least two batters, with Ranger Suarez walking four Mets in Game 4 of the NLDS.
New York won't bail out the struggling Flaherty by swinging the bat as much as San Diego, and it should rack up at least two bases on balls as a result.
