CNN
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The Los Angeles Dodgers got their National League Championship Series (NLCS) off to an impressive start on Sunday, defeating the New York Mets 9-0 at Dodger Stadium, setting an MLB playoff record.

The shutout victory means the Dodgers have now pitched 33 consecutive scoreless innings, tying the Baltimore Orioles’ record set in Games 1 through 4 of the 1966 World Series, in which they defeated the Dodgers featuring future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer.

This time Jack Flaherty was the dominant force on the mound, pitching seven innings and allowing just two hits and two walks while recording six strikeouts. He became the first Dodgers pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2020 to record a scoreless playoff start of seven or more innings.

“It just picks up where the last one left off,” Flaherty said afterward, according to MLB.com. “You know the guy who comes after you has your back. And that’s why the whole team feels like everyone is feeding off each other at the moment.”

By the time the 28-year-old allowed a man on base, it was the fourth inning and the Dodgers were up 3-0; Francisco Lindor’s walk marked the first time in 29 at-bats that a batter struck out an LA pitcher.

Only three other franchises have retired 27 or more consecutive batters in a single postseason – the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals, the 1939 Cincinnati Reds and the 1927, 1956 and 2004 New York Yankees.

“They just went out and dominated,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said of the pitching staff, according to MLB.com. “I’m back there giving the pitches, but it’s all these people who implement what we decide. We’re just trying to keep it going.”

It was a different story for the Mets’ Kodai Senga, who was struck out early in the second inning after facing just 10 batters and giving up three runs. Max Muncy’s two-run single opened the scoring in the first, and Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single in the second was the final nail in the coffin for his compatriot, who was making just his third start of the year after an injury-plagued regular season.

The Dodgers’ remaining runs were evenly split between the fourth and eighth innings. The former saw RBI singles from Tommy Edman and Freddie Freeman, either side of an RBI double from Ohtani.

Mookie Betts’ double in the eighth cleared the bases and made the score 9-0, giving the Dodgers the fourth-largest shutout win in playoff history.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven NLCS is Monday at Dodger Stadium.