MLB/ Dodgers finish off Mets with 10-5 win in NLCS and advance to face Yankees in World Series

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

October 21,j league schedule 2024 at 13:05 JST

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Will Smith watches his two-run home run against the New York Mets during the third inning in Game 6 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Oct. 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo)

LOS ANGELES--Tommy Edman and Will Smith homered to send Shohei Ohtani into the World Series for the first time, and the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 victory in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series on Sunday night.

The Dodgers clinched their record 25th NL pennant and first at home since 1988, when they beat the Mets in seven games. They moved on to their 22nd World Series — 13th in Los Angeles — and first since 2020, when they beat Tampa Bay during the pandemic-delayed season.

Next up for Ohtani and Co. is Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees, who are back in the World Series for the 41st time and first in 15 years. Game 1 is Friday at Dodger Stadium, pitting Judge (58) and Ohtani (54) — MLB’s top home-run hitters this season.

“It’s kind of what the people wanted, what we all wanted,” Dodgers star Mookie Betts said. “It’s going to be a battle of two good teams, a lot of long flights across the country.”

It’ll be the 12th time the storied franchises meet in the World Series and the first in 43 years. The Yankees have beaten the Dodgers eight times, while the Dodgers’ three championships against the Bronx Bombers came in 1955, 1963 and 1981.

“It’s the place that I’ve dreamt of playing all my life,” Ohtani said through a translator, “and to be able to finally come to this stage and be able to play and hopefully win it is my next goal.”

Ohtani, playing his first season with the Dodgers after agreeing to a record-breaking contract in free agency, had two hits and scored two runs in Game 6. He hit .364 with two homers and six RBIs in the NLCS.

Not bad for his first postseason after spending six years with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or reached the playoffs during his tenure.

Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen struck out Brandon Nimmo, Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso swinging in the eighth in his first two-inning outing since the 2021 NLCS.

The Dodgers briefly trailed 1-0 before cleanup hitter Edman came up big.

He drove in the Dodgers’ first four runs and his 11 RBIs in the NLCS tied a franchise record set by Corey Seager in 2020 against Atlanta. Edman, who the NLCS MVP award, joined the Dodgers at the July trade deadline from St. Louis.

The Dodgers eliminated the Mets on their second try in the series. They outscored New York 40-26 in the six games. None of the games were close, with the Dodgers earning two shutouts.

The Mets came within two wins of reaching the World Series after a 22-33 start.

The Dodgers led 2-1 in the first on Edman’s double into the left-field corner off Sean Manaea that scored Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, who both singled. Hernández snapped an 0-for-18 skid in the NLCS. Manaea needed 34 pitches to get through the first.

Facing two strikes in the third, Edman sent a 406-foot shot to left-center for a two-run drive. A walk to Max Muncy and two outs later, Smith homered 416 feet to center off Phil Maton, extending the lead to 6-1.

The Mets cut their deficit to 6-3 in the fourth. With two out, Vientos hit a two-run homer — his fifth of the postseason — off Ryan Brasier. Vientos’ first career grand slam highlighted the Mets’ series-tying win in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.

New York twice failed to cash in with the bases loaded. Trailing 6-3 in the sixth, Jesse Winker flied out against Evan Phillips to end the inning. Down a run in the third, the Mets loaded the bases against Anthony Banda only for Jeff McNeil to strike out swinging.

A clearly amped Michael Kopech opened the bullpen game for the Dodgers for his first career playoff start. He promptly issued a leadoff walk to Francisco Lindor and then threw a wild pitch. With two outs, Alonso had a two-strike flare to second base and Lindor scored on a throwing error by second baseman Chris Taylor for a 1-0 lead.

The Dodgers, whose starting pitching has been decimated by injuries, used seven pitchers in finishing off the Mets, whose $332 million payroll was the biggest in baseball.

Manaea lasted just two innings, giving up five runs and six hits. The left-hander struck out two and walked two. His revamped delivery baffled the Dodgers in Game 2, when Manaea limited them to two earned runs over five innings, but they had no such trouble Sunday.

Alonso had two hits and drove in a run in what could have been his final game for the Mets. The first baseman is eligible for free agency after the World Series.

The Dodgers, who were eliminated in the Division Series the last two years, spent a combined $1 billion last winter to sign Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to lucrative long-term contracts in hopes of winning the franchise’s eighth World Series title.

The sellout crowd of 52,674 included Tom Hanks, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Magic Johnson, Rob Lowe, Josh Groban, Jenny McCarthy and Vanessa Bryant.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: 1B Freddie Freeman sat out for the third time in the postseason because of his sprained right ankle. He also missed Game 4 of the NLCS and Game 4 of the NLDS.