For the first time in his MLB career, Shohei Ohtani is headed to the World Series.
The Los Angeles Dodgers punched their ticket to the Fall Classic with a 10-5 victory over the New York Mets in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday night, October 20 at Dodger Stadium.
Game 1 of the World Series, Dodgers vs New York Yankees, is set for Friday night at a yet-to-be-determined time (Saturday morning JST) in LA. The Dodgers will meet the Yankees for the 12th time in the World Series. And it will be the teams' first showdown in MLB's championship series since 1981.
The Yankees have not appeared in the World Series since winning their 27th title in 2009, while the Dodgers made their last trip to the Fall Classic in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, when they beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven series.
A Dream Come True to Reach the World Series
Now, after six frustrating seasons with the Los Angeles Angels without a single appearance in the playoffs, Ohtani's first trip to the postseason in his first season with the Dodgers is a dream come true.
"It's the place I dreamt of all my life," Ohtani said through an interpreter in an interview on Fox Sports 1. "To be able to finally come to this stage and be able to play and hopefully win it is the next goal."
On Sunday, Ohtani went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the series-deciding game. He had a leadoff single in the bottom of the first inning and scored the Dodgers' first run. Ohtani also knocked in a run with a line-drive single in the sixth to put his team ahead 7-3.
By all accounts, Ohtani has made a profound impact for the Dodgers on and off the field in 2024.
And even though he signed the richest contract in baseball history in the offseason ($700 million USD, more than ¥100 billion JPY, for 10 years), the charter member of MLB's 50-50 club (with 54 homers and 59 steals this season) maintains a blue-collar work ethic.
"He's the world's biggest baseball star. Not just the game, the world," Dodgers infielder Max Muncy was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. "He shows up every day, you expect him to do something incredible and he very rarely disappoints."
Muncy continued: "He works his tail off, he's a great teammate. We've loved having him in the clubhouse and getting to be his teammate all year long has been an absolute treat."
Resilience and Determination Carry the Dodgers
The Dodgers bounced back from a 12-6 Game 5 loss in New York on Friday, October 18.
"I really feel like we finally arrived, I finally arrived at this stage," Ohtani told reporters after the NLCS-clinching win. "A lot of the games we played were really tough and hard to win. And it was truly a team effort to get here."
Los Angeles cleanup hitter Tommy Edman, who drove in 11 runs in the NLCS, was named series MVP. He had four RBIs in Game 6, including a two-run home run off Mets starter Sean Manaea in the third inning. Edman hit .407 (11-for-27) in the NLCS.
"Tommy, I think, clearly is the MVP," Ohtani said. "He does things, not just this postseason but during the regular season, contributing in places where it doesn't really reflect on the stat line."
Added Ohtani, "But I think the common theme for this season has been a lot of people, different guys have been stepping up over the course of the season."
A combined 14 pitchers (seven per team) appeared in this game as both teams emptied their bullpens.
Mets right-hander Kodai Senga was the team's sixth pitcher on this night. When he entered the game in the seventh inning, the Mets trailed 7-4, and a comeback appeared possible for New York. But Senga allowed three hits and three runs in 1⅔ innings, exiting the game after a Kike Hernandez RBI single made it 10-4 in the eighth.
The Dodgers pounded out 11 hits and the Mets matched that total. But the Mets, who trailed 6-1 entering the fourth, stranded 13 runners on base.
High-Scoring Wins to Book a Spot in the World Series
Offense was the story of this series, with the winning team scoring seven or more runs in every game.
The Dodgers secured a spot in the World Series with wins in Game 1 (9-0), Game 3 (8-0), Game 3 (10-2) and the aforementioned rout in Game 6.
And Ohtani was a central figure in the Dodgers' success against the Mets. He was 8-for-22 (.364 batting average), including a pair of homers, in the NLCS with nine runs and nine base on balls.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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