The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets will play Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday night. Kodai Senga and Jack Flaherty will start in what should be a great pitching duel. Game 2 will feature Sean Manaea for the Mets but the Dodgers have not made the choice yet. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters that his choice will depend on how Game 1 plays out.

“The Dodgers may go with a bullpen game for Game 2 and push back starter Walker Buehler,” USA Today's Bob Nightengale posted on social media. “but Dave Roberts said a final decision will depend on how much the bullpen is used tonight.”

This highlights the biggest advantage the Mets have in this matchup. The Amazins have four starting pitchers they know they can rely on in the postseason. Senga and Manaea are followed by Luis Severino and Jose Quintana in the deepest rotation remaining in the postseason. The Dodgers do not know who their third option is right now.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is out until Game 3 because he pitched in Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Shohei Ohtani has not pitched all season while rehabbing a UCL injury. Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow are out for the season with injuries. The pitching woes in Tinsletown are a big storyline going into the NLCS

Should the Dodgers go with Walker Buehler or the bullpen?

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The Dodgers came back from a 2-1 series deficit to send their rival San Diego Padres packing. Game 4 was key in their comeback, an 8-0 win at Petco Park led by their bullpen. Roberts used eight different pitchers to get 27 outs and send the series back to Los Angeles. Yamamoto was spectacular in the clinching game. They were in that position partially because of Walker Buehler's Game 2 start.

After a brutal season. Buehler was hoping to put that behind him in October. He got the ball with a 1-0 series lead at home against the Padres. San Diego jumped on the veteran, scoring three runs in the first two innings. It would benefit Buehler to get the extra two days of rest before his first NLCS start.

Considering how the Mets dominated the Phillies bullpen, the bullpen game is a risky play for the Dodgers. Their relief pitchers are much better than Philadelphia's are, but the Mets are way hotter than the Padres were. Either way, Roberts needs his offensive stars to dominate to make the pitching decisions a moot point.