By ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani carried the injury-riddled Los Angeles Dodgers to baseball’s best record during the regular season. Tommy Edman joined the team in late July and helped them reach the World Series.
It’s been that kind of year for the big-spending Dodgers. When Ohtani isn’t amazing with his power at the plate and prowess on the basepaths, someone else is stepping up.
Edman and Will Smith homered to send Ohtani into the World Series for the first time, and the Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 victory in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series on Sunday night, Oct. 20. Los Angeles opens the World Series against the New York Yankees on Friday.
“I really feel like we finally arrived, I finally arrived at this stage,” Ohtani said through a translator. “A lot of the games we played were really tough and hard to win, and it was truly a team effort to get here.”
The Dodgers clinched their record 25th NL pennant and first at home since 1988, when they beat the Mets in seven games. They moved on to their 22nd World Series — 13th in Los Angeles — and first since 2020, when they beat Tampa Bay during the pandemic-delayed season.
“Every year I get to spring training and I wonder how we’re going to make a baseball team fit because we have so many talented players,” reliever Evan Phillips said. “I wouldn’t say we planned for injuries but we planned to have multiple guys contribute throughout the year.”
Next up for Ohtani and Co. is Aaron Judge and the Yankees, back in the World Series for the 41st time and first in 15 years. The matchup, which opens at Dodger Stadium, features the top two home-run hitters in Judge (58) and Ohtani (54).
“It’s kind of what the people wanted, what we all wanted,” Dodgers star Mookie Betts said. “It’s going to be a battle of two good teams, a lot of long flights across the country.”
It’ll be the 12th time the storied franchises meet in the World Series and the first in 43 years. The Yankees have beaten the Dodgers eight times, while the Dodgers’ three championships against the Bronx Bombers came in 1955, 1963 and 1981.
“It’s the place that I’ve dreamt of playing all my life,” Ohtani said, “and to be able to finally come to this stage and be able to play and hopefully win it is my next goal.”
Playing his first season with the Dodgers after agreeing to a record $700 million, 10-year contract as a free agent, Ohtani had two hits and scored two runs in Game 6. He hit .364 with two homers and six RBIs in the NLCS.
“The goal was to get to this far,” Ohtani said. “And I also pictured myself getting this far with the contract that I’ve signed.”
Ohtani spent his first six MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or reached the playoffs during his tenure.
“We wouldn’t be here without him,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “We went through a lot of injuries and there was a good stretch during the regular season where he singlehandedly carried us.”
The Dodgers, who were eliminated in the Division Series the last two years, spent a combined $1 billion last winter to sign Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to lucrative long-term contracts in hopes of winning the franchise’s eighth World Series title.
Rookie Ben Casparius got four outs for the win and Blake Treinen the save in his first two-inning outing since the 2021 NLCS.
Los Angeles trailed after Pete Alonso’s run-scoring single against starter Michael Kopech.
Edman gave the Dodgers the lead for good with a two-run double in the bottom half off Sean Manaea that drove in Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, who both singled. Hernández snapped an 0-for-18 skid.
Edman drove in the Dodgers’ first four runs and his 11 RBIs in the NLCS tied a franchise record set by Corey Seager in 2020 against Atlanta. Edman, who won the NLCS MVP award, joined the Dodgers at the July trade deadline from St. Louis.
“I think the common theme for this season has been a lot of people, different guys have been stepping up over the course of the season,” Ohtani said.
Edman sent a 406-foot shot to left-center for a two-run homer in a four-run third that included Smith’s 416-foot drive to center off Phil Maton that extended the lead to 6-1.
“I never imagined once we acquired him, he’d be hitting fourth in a postseason game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Edman. “But I trust him. The guys trust him. He’s made huge defensive plays for us and had huge hits.”
Vientos hit his fifth postseason homer, a two-run drive in the fourth Ryan Brasier that cut the deficit to 6-3 in the fourth.
The Dodgers, whose starting pitching has been decimated by injuries, used seven pitchers in finishing off the Mets, whose $332 million payroll was the biggest in baseball.
New York twice stranded the bases loaded, when Anthony Banda struck out Jeff McNeil in the third and when Jesse Winker flied out against Phillips in the sixth.
Los Angeles outscored New York 40-26 in the six games. The Mets came within two wins of reaching the World Series after a 22-33 start and earning the NL’s last wild card.
“This should be our expectations moving forward every year, we should be playing games deep into October,” first year-manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Manaea lasted just two innings, giving up five runs and six hits. Alonso had two hits and drove in a run in what could have been his final game for the Mets. The first baseman is eligible for free agency after the World Series.
“I love this team. I love this organization. This fanbase has treated not just myself, but my family so, so well,” Alonso said.
The sellout crowd of 52,674 included Tom Hanks, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Magic Johnson, Rob Lowe, Josh Groban, Jenny McCarthy and Vanessa Bryant.
