LOS ANGELES — Tommy Edman and Will Smith homered to send Shohei Ohtani to the World Series for the first time, and the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 win on Sunday night in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series.
The Dodgers earned their record 25th NL pennant and first at home since 1988, when they defeated the Mets in seven games. They advanced to their 22nd World Series — 13th in Los Angeles — and first since 2020, when they defeated Tampa Bay during the pandemic-delayed season.
Next up for Ohtani and Co. are Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees, who are back in the World Series for the 41st time and the first in 15 years. Game 1 is Friday at Dodger Stadium, with Judge (58) and Ohtani (54) the best home run hitters in the MLB this season.
“It’s kind of what the people wanted, what we all wanted,” Dodgers star Mookie Betts said. “It will be a battle between two good teams, many long flights across the country.”
It will be the twelfth time the legendary franchises meet in the World Series and the first in 43 years. The Yankees have defeated the Dodgers eight times, while the Dodgers’ three championships against the Bronx Bombers came in 1955, 1963 and 1981.
“It’s the place I’ve dreamed of playing all my life,” Ohtani said through an interpreter, “and to finally be able to get on this stage and play and hopefully win is my next goal.”
Ohtani, playing his first season with the Dodgers after agreeing to a record-setting contract in free agency, had two hits and scored two runs in Game 6. He hit .364 with two home runs and six RBIs in the NLCS.
Not bad for his first postseason after spending six years with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or reached the playoffs during his tenure.
Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen struck out Brandon Nimmo, Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso with a swing in the eighth in his first two-inning outing since the 2021 NLCS.
The Dodgers briefly trailed 1-0 before cleaner Edman came big.
He 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.
The Dodgers eliminated the Mets on their second attempt in the series. They defeated New York 40-26 in the six games. None of the games were close and the Dodgers earned two shutouts.
The Mets came within two wins of reaching the World Series after a 22-33 start.
The Dodgers led 2-1 in the first inning after Edman’s double into the leftfield corner off Sean Manaea, which scored Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, who both singled. Hernández posted an 0-for-18 skid in the NLCS. Manaea needed 34 pitches to get through the first.
With two hits in the third inning, Edman sent a 400-foot shot to left-center for a two-run drive. A walk to Max Muncy and two outs later, Smith homered 450 feet to center off Phil Maton, extending the lead to 6-1.
The Mets narrowed their deficit to 6-3 in the fourth. With two outs, Vientos hit a two-run homer – his fifth of the postseason – off Ryan Brasier. Vientos’ first career grand slam highlighted the Mets’ tying goal in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.
New York twice failed to capitalize with the bases loaded. Trailing 6-3 in the sixth, Jesse Winker hit a fly ball against Evan Phillips to end the inning. After a run in the third inning, the Mets loaded the bases against Anthony Banda, then Jeff McNeil struck out swinging.
A clearly fortified Michael Kopech opened the bullpen game for the Dodgers for his first career playoff start. He promptly walked Francisco Lindor and then threw a wild pitch. With two outs, Alonso had a two-strike flare to second base and Lindor scored on a throwing error by second baseman Chris Taylor for a 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers, whose starting pitching has been decimated by injuries, used seven pitchers to finish off the Mets, whose $332 million payroll was the largest in baseball.
Manaea lasted only two innings and gave up five runs and six hits. The lefthander struckout two batters and walked two batters. His new pitch confused the Dodgers in Game 2, when Manaea limited them to two earned runs over five innings, but that didn’t bother them on Sunday.
Alonso had two hits and drove in a run in what could have been his last game for the Mets. The first baseman will be eligible for free agency after the World Series.
The Dodgers, who have been eliminated from the Division Series the past 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.
The sold-out 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.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Evaders: 1B Freddie Freeman retired for the third time in the postseason due to his sprained right ankle. He also missed Game 4 of the NLCS and Game 4 of the NLDS.
