The Los Angeles Dodgers are one win away from playing in the World Series after a dominant 10-2 victory in Game 4.
After splitting the first two games of the series in Los Angeles, the New York Mets have been dominated by the Dodgers thus far at Citi Field. LA cruised to an 8-0 win in Game 3 — its second shutout in three games after taking the opener 9-0 — and set up a crucial Game 4 for the Mets.
New York trotted out lefty Jose Quintana on Thursday night. Entering the game, Quintana had a 0.00 ERA in the postseason and was one of the best pitchers in the National League after the All-Star break. The Dodgers struck immediately when Shohei Ohtani blasted the second pitch of the game over the fence in right field. Mark Vientos tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a one-out homer off Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but it was all Dodgers the rest of the way.
A Tommy Edman double in the 3rd reclaimed the lead for the Dodgers and Kiké Hernández pushed the lead to 3-1 with a single one batter later. The Mets loaded the bases in the bottom of the 3rd, but Yamamoto escaped the jam allowing only one run. Overall, the star pitcher struck out eight batters and allowed two runs in 4.1 IP.
Playing without former MVP Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers ambushed New York’s staff over the final five innings of action. Mookie Betts pushed the lead to 5-2 in the 4th inning with a two-run double and his two-run HR in the 6th gave Los Angeles a 7-2 advantage. Betts finished the night 4-for-6 with four RBI. In addition to his leadoff homer, Ohtani walked three times and scored four runs. Edman tallied three RBI. Meanwhile, Max Muncy reached base his first four times up to set an MLB postseason record with 12 consecutive plate appearances in which he reached.
The Dodgers scored three more runs in the 8th inning — courtesy of an Edman RBI-double and a two-run single off the bat of Will Smith — and went on to win 10-2. One win away from reaching the World Series for the 22nd time in franchise history, the Dodgers have outscored the Mets 30-9 through four games.
With their season on the line Friday evening, the Mets will trot out left-hander David Peterson in hopes of silencing LA’s bats. The Dodgers will start hometown kid Jack Flaherty as they look to clinch the NL Pennant. In Game 1, Flaherty blanked the Mets and allowed two hits over 7.0 IP.
