Dodgers blow out Mets for 3-1 lead in lopsided NLCS

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer and scored four times, Mookie Betts also went deep and drove in four runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the New York Mets 10-2 on Thursday night for a 3-1 lead in their lopsided National League Championship Series.

Betts had a two-run homer and a two-run double among his four hits. Max Muncy extended his streak of reaching base safely to 12 plate appearances, a postseason record, and the Dodgers moved within one win of their 25th pennant — most in NL history.

Game 5 is Friday at Citi Field, with Jack Flaherty expected to pitch for Los Angeles looking to put his hometown team in the World Series.

David Peterson was set to make his first playoff start for New York after pitching well out of the bullpen this postseason.

“Peterson is fully rested. Last time he pitched was four days ago. So I’m anticipating him making a regular start,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Surprise cleanup batter Tommy Edman had three RBIs, including a tiebreaking double off starter Jose Quintana with two outs in the third inning. Kiké Hernández followed with an RBI single that made it 3-1.

Betts broke open the game, greeting reliever Jose Buttó with a two-run double in the fourth and then right-hander Phil Maton with a two-run homer in the sixth.

Both big hits followed walks to Ohtani, handed three straight free passes after homering on consecutive swings going back to Game 3.

“Not only Ohtani, you have to take care of the other guys behind him,” Mendoza said. “When he goes out there first at-bat of the game and hits it like that, obviously, it’s a good feeling for them. We knew that wasn’t going to beat us, but we couldn’t just stop it.”

Betts gave a huge fist pump between second and third as he rounded the bases following his third homer of these playoffs.

Mark Vientos provided a rare highlight for New York, hitting his fourth postseason homer in the first inning off $325 million rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

But the Mets, who were 14-2 in their past 16 games at Citi Field when they arrived back home Wednesday, were blown out on their own turf for the second successive night.

New York has been outscored 30-9 in the series, including 9-0 in the opener and 8-0 in Game 3.

“You’ve got to give those guys credit. That’s a deep lineup,” Mendoza said. “And whether (our starters) are feeling it or not, we haven’t executed and we haven’t got length from them.”

The latest flop after a thrilling comeback ride this far into October hushed a sellout crowd of 43,882 and left Citi Field eerily quiet in the late innings — and just about as empty as April.

Evan Phillips earned the win with 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Yamamoto.

Trailing 7-2, the staggering Mets had a chance to get back in the game when they loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth. But then Phillips got two outs and Blake Treinen retired pinch-hitter Jesse Winker on a fly to the right-field warning track.

Trainer’s Room

Dodgers: All-Star 1B Freddie Freeman missed his second game of the playoffs. Freeman has been playing with a badly sprained and swollen right ankle throughout the postseason.

Mets: Slumping catcher Francisco Alvarez hobbled to first base in pain after getting drilled by Yamamoto’s 91 mph sinker to begin the fifth. He was pulled for a pinch hitter with the bases loaded in the sixth.

Up next

Acquired from Detroit at the July 30 trade deadline, Flaherty went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 10 regular-season starts for the Dodgers and finished 13-7 with a 3.17 ERA overall. He allowed two hits over seven innings to win the NLCS opener 9-0.