If the New York Mets have one thing to learn from their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s that the Dodgers offense is unstoppable when in great shape.
The Dodgers crushed the Mets 10-2 Thursday night in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series to move within one victory of the World Series.
Los Angeles will have the opportunity to reach the World Series for the first time since 2020 on Friday, with Game 5.
Dave Roberts’ men have totaled 27 points in their three wins against the Mets so far. Before Thursday night’s game, the Dodgers’ last four victories had been by shutout.
“You have to give them credit. They have a lot of depth. And whether our starters were feeling good or not, we didn’t execute well and we didn’t stay away from them,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Mookie Betts was the offensive sparkplug for the Dodgers with four hits, including a long ball, along with three runs scored and four RBIs.
Shohei Ohtani only had one hit – a home run in his first at-bat – but he drew three walks and crossed the plate no less than four times.
“We don’t just have to be wary of Shohei Ohtani, we also have to look out for the players behind him,” Mendoza explained. When he’s at the plate for the first at-bat of the game and he hits like that, obviously, it’s a good feeling for them. We knew they weren’t going to beat us, but we weren’t able to stop them. »
On the mound, starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out eight batters before being removed from the game after four and a third innings. He allowed four hits and two runs.
The Dodgers relief did not allow any runs thereafter.
For the Mets, Jose Quintana was removed from the game after giving up five hits and five runs in three and a third innings.
The Dodgers quickly showed their colors in the first inning. From the second pitch of the game, Ohtani sent the ball 422 feet from the plate to open the scoring with his third home run of the playoffs.
The Mets, however, used the same recipe to respond to the Dodgers. From its next turn at bat, New York took advantage of a long ball from Mark Vientos to bring everyone back to square one.
Los Angeles took control of the game starting in the third inning. Powerful hits from Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernandez put the Dodgers back in control, then a fourth-inning double from Betts drove in two runs to give LA a 6-2 lead.
Betts came back in the sixth inning with his third home run of the series. A double by Edman and a single by Will Smith in the eighth missed allowed Los Angeles to reach the ten and put the game out of reach of the Mets.
Starting for the Dodgers on Friday will be Jack Flaherty, who is from Los Angeles. The Mets will respond with David Peterson.
