The Dodgers' Jack Flaherty fails in the second NLCS game against the Mets, forcing Game 6 in Los Angeles

NEW YORK (AP) — Instead of sending his hometown team to the World Series, Jack Flaherty sent the NL Championship Series back to California.

Flaherty was dominant in the opening game and flopped in Game 5.

Pete Alonso hit a three-run home run in the first inning and the Mets beat Flaherty by five runs in the third inning for a 12-6 win Friday night that moved New York to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series brought.

“For the first time in a while, I let the game speed up a little bit and didn’t make the in-game adjustments that are normally made,” Flaherty said.

Flaherty's fastball velocity dropped 1.9 mph from his season average and the spin rate was significantly lower on his four-seam fastball and knuckle curve.

“He obviously wasn’t sharp,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He was fighting something. He was a little under the weather. So I don't know if that affected the speed. I'm not sure.”

Flaherty, a teammate of Max Fried and Lucas Giolito at Harvard-Westlake, was dealt to the Dodgers by Detroit on July 30. He insisted there is “no added frustration” in not being successful for LA.

Over the last two months, he went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA for Los Angeles, losing to San Diego in Game 2 of the Division Series when he hit Fernando Tatis' solo home run in the first and David Peralta's two- Run drive allowed in the third inning of a 5-2 loss.

The right-hander had six days off and pitched seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball against the Mets. Returning to the normal four days of rest for Game 5, he made his first appearance without strikeouts since September 10, 2022 for St. Louis in Pittsburgh.

Flaherty made his first appearance as a 29-year-old after his birthday on Tuesday.

Alonso hit a home run on a slider just 1.12 feet above the plate. Then in the fifth, Starling Marte hit a two-run double down the left field line with a sinker that didn't, Francisco Alvarez hit an RBI single with another sinker, Francisco Lindor hit an ankle curve into the right field corner for a two-run triple and a single to right field for an 8-2 lead.

“They did a good job making adjustments, but I didn’t,” Flaherty said. “That’s part of the challenge and what makes the postseason so interesting is that you play one team twice in five days.”

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