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 victory in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday night.
The Dodgers captured their record 25th NL pennant and first at home since 1988, when they beat the Mets in seven games. They advanced to their 22nd World Series — 13th in Los Angeles — and first since 2020, when they beat Tampa Bay during the pandemic-delayed season.
Next up for Ohtani and company is Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees, who return to the World Series for the 41st time and for the first time in 15 years. Game 1 is Friday at Dodger Stadium, and will pit Judge (58) against Ohtani (54), the best home runs in MLB this season. The game will be broadcast live on Fox.
It will be the twelfth time the legendary franchises have met in the World Series and the first in 43 years. The Yankees have beaten the Dodgers eight times, while the Dodgers' two championships against the Bronx Bombers came in 1981 and 1955.
Ohtani, playing his first season with the Dodgers after accepting a record-breaking contract in free agency, had two hits and scored two runs in Game 6. He hit .364 with two homers 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 while swinging in the eighth in his first two-inning outing since the 2021 NLCS.
The Dodgers briefly trailed 1-0 before cleanup hitter Edman came up 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 joined the Dodgers at the July trade deadline from St. Louis.
The Dodgers eliminated the Mets on their second try in the series. They outscored New York 40-26 in their six games. None of the games were close, with the Dodgers earning 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 on Edman's double into the left field corner off Sean Manaea that scored Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, both singles. Hernández posted an 0-for-18 slide in the NLCS. Manaea needed 34 pitches to get through the first.
Facing two strikes in the third, Edman sent a 406-foot pitch to left-center for a two-run drive. A walk to Max Muncy and two outs later, Smith hit a 416-foot homer to center Phil Maton, extending the lead to 6-1.
The Mets cut their deficit to 6–3 in the fourth. With two out, Vientos hit a two-run homer – his fifth of the postseason – off Ryan Brasier. Vientos' first career grand slam highlighted the Mets' series victory in Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.
New York twice failed to cash in with the bases loaded. Trailing 6-3 in the sixth, Jesse Winker struck out against Evan Phillips to end the inning. After one run in the third, the Mets loaded the bases against Anthony Banda only for Jeff McNeil to swing home.