NEW YORK - Freddie Freeman usually bats behind Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup. But with Freeman on the bench due to a right ankle injury Thursday night, he got to admire his teammates from a different vantage point as the hard-hitting duo moved the Dodgers to the edge of the World Series. Ohtani homered on the second pitch of the game and Betts had four hits - including a homer - and four RBIs for the Dodgers, who took control of the National League Championship Series with a 10-2 win over the New York Mets in Game 4.
The Dodgers lead the best-of-seven series 3-1 and will attempt to clinch the pennant and a trip to the World Series on Friday afternoon, when the teams are scheduled to play Game 5 in New York. "To be one game away - we're really excited," said Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman, who was 2-for-6 with three RBIs. "We've got to concentrate one game at a time, but we're close.
We can feel it, for sure." The Mets, who will be playing an elimination game for the second time this month, have been outscored 30-9 in the NLCS. "If you have no belief, you shouldn't be here -- you've got to believe and fight for what you want," Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said.
"We have an amazing opportunity and that's winning a big-league game in the National League Championship Series. We've got to come out, we've got to execute and we've got to play the game better than they do." Following his 422-foot leadoff homer to right, likely NL MVP Ohtani saw j.
