Superior Dodgers poised to beat Mets on road to World Series

Columnist

Oct. 16, 2024 Updated 10:31 PM PT

NEW YORK — Start spreading the news ...

The Dodgers are on the verge of finishing the National League Championship Series before you can say New York twice.

They’re turning the Mets into little-town blues that are melting away.

They’re defrocking the Mets down to their vagabond shoes that are longing to ... oh, forget it, one shouldn’t need to crib from a corny song to describe what is happening here.

Fact: The Dodgers are a thoroughly better team than the Mets. Fact: The Dodgers are perfectly set up to finish this shebang by the end of the week.

On a chilly, wind-blown Wednesday night at Citi Field, the Dodgers were acting like kings of the hill on top of the heap — sorry, can’t help it — in a dominating 8-0 victory, giving them a 2-1 lead with their two best starting pitchers on deck.

Good thing the Mets are in a city that doesn’t sleep — last one, promise — because they won’t be getting much of it in the next 48 hours.

In Thursday’s Game 4, the Dodgers will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who held the San Diego Padres scoreless in five innings in his last postseason start.

In Friday’s Game 5, they will start Jack Flaherty, who held the Mets scoreless in seven innings in his last postseason start.

“We’re close, we have a chance to win,” said Blake Treinen, who threw his usual perfect relief inning. “... I mean, being able to go home with a few days off looking at a World Series would be the ultimate goal. So yeah, win tomorrow, focus on that, take care of business and see what happens next.”

He’s right. They truly have a legitimate chance to close this out before they return to Los Angeles, especially after the way they devastated the Mets on Wednesday despite having starter Luis Severino on the mound and a rollicking, singing crowd behind him.

The fans roared. The Mets stumbled. The fans chanted. The Mets caved. The fans left in the sixth inning. The Dodgers kept piling on.

Starter Walker Buehler was good enough. A 10-hit offense was better than enough. And the Mets weren’t even close to being enough.

It was the first time in franchise history that the Dodgers twirled three shutouts while winning by seven-plus runs in a five-game span.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Michael Kopech, who relieved Buehler in the fifth and retired the dangerous top of the Mets order. “To be able to see Shohei put on a show every night, to see a guy with the talent of Walker taking the bump and doing what he does ... it’s been a lot of fun for all of us.”

As Kopech referenced, the entire game, and the postseason so far, was epitomized by two swings from Shohei Ohtani.

With one hack in the sixth inning, he fouled a ball off his groin before striking out in obvious and embarrassing pain. With another hack two innings later, he launched a 397-foot, three-run homer high over the right-field foul pole for his first of the series.

He was vulnerable, then invincible, just like the Dodgers have appeared in an October that seems possibly headed for November.

They nearly collapsed in the division series against the Padres before finishing with a dominating two victories. They then badly stumbled in Game 2 against the Mets in this NLCS before storming back to reassert themselves.

“Everybody goes through their ups and downs, but we all believe in each other, and it’s showing right now,” Mookie Betts said.

This unity showed on a night the Mets fell apart.

Despite playing in a cozy stadium where fans sing along with Francisco Lindor’s walk-up music — “My Girl” — and dance to the strains of infielder Jose Iglesias singing, “OMG,” the Mets just weren’t inspired, and almost gave away the game before it started.

In the second inning against Severino, with Max Muncy on first after a leadoff walk, Teoscar Hernández hit a bouncer in front of the plate. Catcher Francisco Alvarez made a horrible mistake, throwing to second instead of getting the sure out at first. The ball bounced past Iglesias for an error and both runners were safe.

Then Severino dropped a Gavin Lux bouncer and blew a chance at a double play, then he botched a grounder from Will Smith to score a run, and a Tommy Edman fly ball gave the Dodgers another run.

Two runs in five batters and only one ball leaves the infield. The Mets were deflated, an observation which only became more clear in the bottom of the second when Buehler struck out Alvarez and Lindor with the bases loaded.

The rest of the game was controlled by a Dodgers team that made itself at home with homers by not only Ohtani but also Kiké Hernández and Muncy, who tied a Dodgers record with his 13th postseason long ball.

“It’s definitely a blessing,” said Muncy, who tied Corey Seager and Justin Turner, and it appears everyone on this team feels equally blessed.

As the game ended amid empty stands and silence, the transaction was complete.

It was a typically tantalizing New York night owned by — sorry, it must be said — Los Angeles, Los Angeles.