MLB: Shohei Ohtani homers as Dodgers take 2-1 lead in NLCS

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani celebrates his three-run home run against the New York Mets during the eighth inning in Game 3 of the MLB NL Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

NEW YORK — By the time Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate in the eighth inning Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers were already in control.

Once the ball left his bat, Game 3 of the National League Championship Series was over.

Ohtani launched a three-run homer and the Dodgers pulled away for an 8-0 victory against the choppy New York Mets that gave them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

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Kiké Hernández hit a two-run shot to make it 4-0 in the sixth with his 15th career postseason homer and waved to the Citi Field crowd he quieted. Los Angeles rebounded from a loss at home by pitching its fourth shutout in the past five playoff games.

“These guys are locked in. And they understand they have a job to do to prevent runs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And I think we’re playing good defense, too.”

Game 4 is Thursday night in Queens, with $325 million rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto scheduled to start for Los Angeles against veteran left-hander Jose Quintana.

Ohtani connected for a towering 410-foot drive that soared into the second deck in right field. He gave a little lean at home plate as he watched the ball barely stay fair above the foul pole.

Max Muncy went deep in the ninth for his 13th career postseason homer, tying Corey Seager and Justin Turner for the franchise record. Muncy also connected in Game 2.

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“It’s definitely a blessing. I can’t be thankful enough that I’ve had the opportunity to play enough games to be able to accrue those numbers,” he said. “Thankful to be able to be on a team and an organization that gets to the postseason every single year.”

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler struck out Francisco Lindor on a full-count knuckle curve to leave the bases loaded in the second.

A fired-up Buehler shouted as he walked off the mound, and then again in Lindor’s direction.

“That was the pitch of the game,” Roberts said. “Obviously, the crowd was into it. They were gaining momentum. To get the breaking ball down below the zone and get a great hitter out was huge. And I think that just kind of speaks to experience.”

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No. 9 batter Francisco Alvarez fanned right before Lindor and went down looking all three times up. New York stranded six runners in the first three innings against Buehler when the game was still close.

“Walker, he’s a different animal in the postseason. I don’t care what his regular-season numbers are, especially this year coming off the second Tommy John (surgery),” Muncy said. “We all knew once we got into this setting he was going to be Walker Buehler, and he was definitely that tonight.”

Winless since May 18 during an injury-plagued season, Buehler made his 17th career postseason start. He struck out six in four innings of three-hit ball after failing to whiff a single batter during his Division Series loss to San Diego.

“Being in big games, that’s literally all I care about,” said Buehler, who ditched his windup early in the game and began working exclusively out of the stretch because he couldn’t feel his cold right foot on a hard mound.

“This is definitely a big momentum win for us. But if we don’t do something with it, then it doesn’t really matter a whole lot.”

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler and catcher Will Smith celebrate after New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor strike out with the bases loaded to end the second inning in Game 3 of the MLB NL Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Buehler combined with four relievers on a four-hitter as the Dodgers got five stingy innings from their hard-throwing bullpen.

“This guy has proven year after year that when there’s a big game and the Dodgers need a win, he’s the right guy to be on the mound,” Hernández said.

Michael Kopech worked a hitless fifth for the win, and Dodgers pitchers finished with 13 strikeouts.

Mets starter Luis Severino fell behind 2-0 in the second, partly due to some shoddy fielding. He did not permit an earned run but threw 95 pitches and walked four in 4 2/3 innings, taking the loss.

Slumping catcher Will Smith knocked in a run with an infield single, and Tommy Edman had a sacrifice fly that could have been more if not for a sensational catch on the right-center warning track by Tyrone Taylor.

Los Angeles threw consecutive shutouts against San Diego to win their heated Division Series after trailing two games to one. Jack Flaherty and the Dodgers then blanked the Mets 9-0 in the NLCS opener Sunday, extending the team’s scoreless streak to 33 innings — matching a postseason record.

The only recent blip for the pitching staff came Monday, when Lindor hit a leadoff homer and the Mets won 7-3 at Chavez Ravine.

Ohtani entered batting .222 with a homer and five RBIs during his first postseason. The $700 million superstar sparked the offense in Game 1 against the Mets, but hadn’t gone deep since hitting a three-run homer early in the Division Series opener.

“It’s important for Shohei, certainly, to build some confidence,” Roberts said.

When he connected on an 0-1 cutter from Tylor Megill in the eighth, Ohtani pointed toward the Dodgers dugout. The ball was initially called fair, a ruling that stood following a replay review.

“I just threw it into it his honey hole and he launched it into the upper deck,” Megill said.

Dating to the regular season, Ohtani has 17 hits and 27 RBIs in his past 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position, including seven home runs. The leadoff hitter is 0 for 22 this postseason with the bases empty. With runners on, he is 7 for 9 with two homers and eight RBIs.

Los Angeles improved to 4-0 at Citi Field this year, outscoring New York 26-5. That includes a three-game sweep in late May that dropped the Mets to 22-33 and marked the low point of their rollercoaster season.

“I like the fact that we are getting guys on base. Just haven’t been able to come up with a big hit,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said. “As long as we continue to create traffic, somebody’s going to come up and get that big one for us.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: 2B Gavin Lux was back in the lineup, batting sixth. Lux missed Game 2 because of a right hip flexor injury that forced him out of the series opener in the seventh inning.

UP NEXT

Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA) struggled in the Division Series opener against San Diego but then pitched five scoreless innings of two-hit ball to win the deciding Game 5 last Friday. He threw 39 of 63 pitches for strikes.

Quintana (10-10, 3.75 ERA) has not allowed an earned run over 11 innings in two playoff starts, both no-decisions. Going back to Aug. 25, the 35-year-old Quintana has given up just three earned runs in eight starts spanning 47 1/3 innings.