Dodgers beat Mets to take lead in MLB playoff series

Text size

Shohei Ohtani, Enrique Hernandez and Max Muncy hit home runs as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets 8-0 on Wednesday to take the lead in their Major League Baseball playoff series.

Ohtani delivered a three-run home run from just inside the right field line in the eighth inning, Hernandez crushed a two-run blast in the sixth inning and Max Muncy hit a solo home run in the ninth inning to give Los Angeles a win.

The stunning victory gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven National League championship series, which continues Thursday in New York.

The series winner will face either the New York Yankees or the Cleveland Guardians in the World Series.

Muncy walked three times, added two hits and scored twice, hitting his 13th career playoff home run and tying a club record.

“It’s a pretty good night,” Muncy said. “The home run is obviously pretty cool, but at this point it doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is for my teammates to get on base. You get a chance to drive me in.”

The Dodgers batters showed patience at the plate, waiting for just the right opportunity for home runs and key hits.

“We stay within ourselves. We stay within the (hitting) zone and get good throws to hit,” Muncy said. “If you do that all the time, you’ll get some good results.”

Los Angeles pitcher Walker Buehler, a 30-year-old right-hander who struggled this year after ligament replacement surgery in 2022 and missed the 2023 season, struck out six in four scoreless innings.

“It’s been a long road and a tough year for me,” Buehler said. “When the stakes are so big, everything else seems small. The ball moved pretty well for me.”

Four Dodgers kept the Mets' batters frustrated until the end, managing a four-hit shutout with a total of 13 strikeouts.

“Shutouts in the playoffs aren’t easy,” Buehler said.

The Dodgers are seeking their fourth World Series appearance in eight seasons and their first MLB title since 2020, while the Mets, who last reached the World Series in 2015, have not won an MLB title since 1986.

The Dodgers opened the scoring in the second inning when Muncy walked, took second base when Teoscar Hernandez reached on a fielder's choice, advanced on a groundout by Gavin Lux and scored on Will Smith's infield single.

Tommy Edman followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Teoscar Hernandez from third and give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.

Buehler struck out Mets leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor in the second inning to avoid a bases-loaded jam. Mets pitcher Luis Severino escaped his own bases-loaded situation in the third when Lux singled to end the threat.

But the Dodgers doubled the lead in the sixth when Edman singled and 33-year-old Puerto Rican outfielder Enrique Hernandez blasted the ball over the centerfield wall for his 15th career playoff home run.

“I love playing in October,” he said. “It just brings out the best in me.”

Los Angeles struck again in the eighth when Will Smith walked, Enrique Hernandez singled and Ohtani hit the ball for a home run that rose after a video review challenge, giving LA a 7-0 lead.

Muncy added his solo home run in the ninth and Ben Casparius retired the Mets' last three batters in the ninth.

js/sev