A jubilant Shohei Ohtani was doused in champagne by his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates after reaching his first World Series on Sunday night.
Tommy Edman and Will Smith homered as the Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 win in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series, setting up a mouthwatering MLB showpiece against another Big Apple franchise in the Yankees.
LA 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.
Ohtani, who joined the team late last year on a record-setting 10-year, $700 million contract, has made an immediate impact since arriving at Dodger Stadium and will now compete with the likes of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto in the world Series.
After the NL Championship, however, the two-way phenomenon caused him to drunkenly toast the victory with his teammates in the locker room.
Shohei Ohtani was covered in champagne after helping the Dodgers reach the World Series
Los Angeles defeated the New York Mets to win the NL Championship on Sunday night
“It’s the place I’ve dreamed of playing my whole 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 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.
Ohtani hit .364 with two home runs and six RBIs in the NLCS after two hits and two runs in Game 6
It marks a sensational first season for him in LA after signing a record $700 million contract
Ohtani made sure to drunkenly toast the victory with his teammates in the locker room
He also returned the favor by popping and spraying some champagne bottles himself
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 issued a walk to 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.
The Dodgers will now turn their attention to the World Series against the New York Yankees
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.