Ohtani Homer, Dodgers Pitching Put Subway Series In Question

NEW YORK—If there’s going to be a Subway Series, the New York Mets must come from behind against the Los Angeles Dodgers to make it happen.

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

Gooden’s words were echoed a moment later by Darryl Strawberry, his teammate in 1986, the last time the Mets won the World Series. The New York Yankees are seemingly on their way, leading Cleveland 2-0 in the American League Championship Series with Game 3 at Progressive Field Thursday.

But Strawberry sounded a cautionary note. “The Mets have to get through a good Dodgers ballclub,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy.”

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

If not, it’s back to Dodger Stadium to conclude the series.

For the next two games, the Dodgers have the Mets right where they want them, with a pair of 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.

Even with the series lead, the Dodgers are under pressure to close things out in Queens. “I would love to win this in five, yes,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

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

Roberts is choosing not to think about that right now. “We’ll see when we get there,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that obviously can happen from now until Game 6.”

First, Game 3 happened. The Mets were held to four singles by Dodgers starter Walker Buehler and four relievers. Despite the Dodgers’ apparent pitching shortage, they have thrown four shutouts in the past five playoff games against the San Diego Padres and the Mets, two of the better hitting teams in the National League. They held the Mets scoreless in Game 1, winning 9-0.

By the time Ohtani’s rocket 400-foot homer landed in the right-field seats, the game was essentially over. Buehler had given the Dodgers four solid enough innings throwing 90 pitches and working out of several early jams. It left the Mets wondering what they might have to do to win the title for the first time since 1986.

And the fact is, MLB and its TV partners could well prefer the Dodgers playing the Yankees with all the inherent story lines. It would be the 12th time in history the two teams would meet in the Fall Classic, but the first since 1981. Then there’s the prospect of a battle between Ohtani and Yankee star Aaron Judge.

At first glance, Ohtani, who notched the first 50 home-run/50 stolen-base season in MLB history, has struggled during his first postseason, hitting .226 overall with no stolen bases. But his eighth-inning homer with runners on first and second makes him 17-for-20 in his most recent at-bats with runners in scoring position. He’s the first MLB hitter to ever do that, too.

There’s an obvious disparity there.

“Playing against good teams, better teams, with their best pitchers makes it tougher in the playoffs,” Ohtani said. “So, being able to get base hits, put up results isn’t as easy maybe as it could be.”

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’ve kept coming back, and now they’ll have to do it again.

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