Ohtani homer and Dodgers pitching put subway series into question

NEW YORK – If there is to be a Subway Series, the New York Mets will have to overcome a deficit against the Los Angeles Dodgers to make it happen.

“It would be great for New York,” former Mets star Dwight Gooden said before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night at Citi Field.

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Gooden's words were echoed moments later by Darryl Strawberry, his teammate in 1986 the last time the Mets won the World Series. The New York Yankees appear to be on their way, leading Cleveland 2-0 in the American League Championship Series heading into Game 3 on Thursday at Progressive Field.

But Strawberry warned. “The Mets have to beat a good Dodgers ballclub,” he said. “It won’t be easy.”

Strawberry proved prophetic. After he threw the ceremonial first pitch to Gooden, the Dodgers took care of things with an 8-0 victory that included Shohei Ohtani's second three-run home run of the playoffs. The Dodgers lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 and can clinch the NL pennant by winning Games 4 and 5 here on Thursday and Friday nights.

If not, it's back to Dodger Stadium to finish the series.

For the next two games, the Dodgers have the Mets right where they want them, with two quality starters set to take the mound – Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Game 1 winner Jack Flaherty. The Mets, who have healthier starting depth, have Jose Quintana in Game 4 and Game 1 loser Kodai Senga in Game 5.

Despite leading the series, the Dodgers are under pressure to close things out in Queens. “I would like to win this in five games, yeah,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Otherwise, the pitching plans for possible Games 6 and 7 are sketchy as the Dodgers only have three viable starters on their NLCS roster. They want to avoid another bullpen game like Monday's 7-3 loss in Game 2.

Roberts decides not to think about it at the moment. “We’ll see when we get there,” he said. “Of course a lot can happen between now and the sixth game.”

Game 3 happened first. The Mets were held to four singles by Dodgers starter Walker Buehler and four relievers. Despite the Dodgers' obvious pitching deficiencies, they have posted four shutouts in their last five playoff games against the San Diego Padres and Mets, two of the National League's more powerful teams. They held the Mets scoreless in Game 1 and won 9-0.

When Ohtani's rocketing 400-foot home run landed into the right field pitches, the game was essentially over. Buehler had given the Dodgers four solid enough innings, throwing 90 pitches and working out several early jams. The Mets wondered what they needed to do to win the title for the first time since 1986.

And the fact is, MLB and its TV partners may well prefer the Dodgers play the Yankees with all the inherent storylines. It would be the 12th time in history that the two teams have met in the Fall Classic, but the first since 1981. Then there is the prospect of a battle between Ohtani and Yankee star Aaron Judge.

At first glance, Ohtani, who had the first 50 home run and 50 stolen base season in MLB history, struggled in his first postseason, hitting .226 overall with no stolen bases. But his eighth-inning home run with runners on first and second puts him at 17 of 20 in his final at-bats with runners in scoring position. He's also the first MLB hitter to ever do that.

There is an obvious inequality there.

“Playing against good teams, better teams, with their best pitchers, makes it harder in the playoffs,” Ohtani said. “So it might not be as easy to get base hits and get results.”

The Mets have done it the hard way all year, digging themselves a hole by starting the season 0-5 and falling to 11 games under .500 at one point. But they kept coming back, and now they have to do it again.

“Look what we are experiencing right now, we are making history. That’s what we want,” Mets first-year manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We want to create something special. I know it's been a while and that's why there's so much excitement in the city and around baseball. Nobody expected us to be here, and here we are.”

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