The Los Angeles Dodgers are showing why they have been the World Series favorites all year long.

They put together another dominant performance against the New York Mets in Game 4 of the NLCS on Thursday, cruising to a 10-2 victory and taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.

Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani got things started with a bang, hitting his third home run of the postseason in the top of the first inning. However, New York answered right back with a solo shot from Mark Vientos in the bottom half of the first inning.

The Dodgers had back-to-back two-out hits in the third inning that brought in a run each, but the Mets quickly cut that deficit to one.

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Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a two-run home run by Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers as Francisco Alvarez #4 of the New York Mets reacts during the sixth inning against the New York Mets during Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Citi Field on October 17, 2024 in New York City. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

In the fourth, Mookie Betts doubled in two runs to give LA a 5-2 lead. Two innings later, Betts hit a two-run homer, and it was a five-run lead for the Dodgers. New York loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but they failed to score, emptying the crowd at Citi Field. To add insult to injury, the Dodgers added three runs in the eighth to ice the score.

The win came despite the Dodgers resting Freddie Freeman, who was playing with a badly sprained ankle. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not commit to playing Freeman in all three games in New York, but he did say after Game 3 that he expected Freeman in Thursday’s lineup. He didn’t seem to be missed.

Ohtani scored four runs that night and walked three times to go along with his home run. Betts, meanwhile, went 4-for-6.

Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after hitting an RBI double in the fourth inning of Game 4 of the NLCS presented by loanDepot between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, October 17, 2024, in New York, New York. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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Now the Dodgers are one win away from returning to the World Series. They last won it all in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, but other than that, they haven’t won since 1988. It would also be their first full-season Fall Classic appearance since 2018, when they lost to the Boston Red Sox.

As for the Mets, they will need to win at home on Friday, and then in Los Angeles on Sunday and Monday, to return to the World Series. Overall, Los Angeles has outscored the Mets 30-5 in this series.

This isn’t the first time the Mets have had their backs against the wall in October, but this is the first time they’ve had to survive and move forward for quite some time.

Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a two-run home run by Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers as Francisco Alvarez #4 of the New York Mets reacts during the sixth inning during Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Citi Field on October 17, 2024 in New York City. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

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It has yet to be determined who the Mets will throw while they are shut down, as they will likely go with Kodai Senga or David Peterson. Los Angeles, meanwhile, will go with Jack Flaherty.

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