LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani took the injury-plagued Los Angeles Dodgers to baseball’s best regular-season record. Tommy Edman joined the team in late July and helped them reach the World Series.

It’s been one of those big-spending years for the Dodgers. If Ohtani isn’t great with his power at the plate and prowess on the basepaths, someone else steps up.

Edman and Will Smith homered to send Ohtani to the World Series for the first time, and the Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 victory on Sunday night in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. Los Angeles opens the World Series against the New York Yankees on Friday.

“I really feel like we have finally arrived, I have finally arrived at this stage,” Ohtani said through a translator. “A lot of the games we played were very tough and difficult to win, and it was really a team effort to get here.”

The Dodgers 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.

“Every year I go to spring training and wonder how we’re going to get a baseball team in shape because we have so many talented players,” reliever Evan Phillips said. “I wouldn’t say we planned for injuries, but we planned for multiple guys to contribute throughout the year.”

Next up for Ohtani and Co. is Aaron Judge and the Yankeesback in the World series for the 41st time and the first in 15 years. The game, which starts at Dodger Stadium, features the top two home run hitters: Judge (58) and Ohtani (54).

“It’s kind of what the people wanted, what we all wanted,” Dodgers star Mookie Betts said. “It will be a battle between two good teams, many long flights across the country.”

It will be the twelfth time the legendary franchises meet in the World Series and the first in 43 years. The Yankees have defeated the Dodgers eight times, while the Dodgers’ three championships against the Bronx Bombers came in 1955, 1963 and 1981.

“It’s the place I’ve dreamed of playing my whole life,” Ohtani said, “and to finally be able to get on this stage and play and hopefully win is my next goal.”

He played his first season with the Dodgers after agreeing to a record $700 million, 10-year contract as a free agent, Ohtani had two hits and scored two runs in Game 6. He hit .364 with two home runs and six RBIs in the NLCS.

“The goal was to get this far,” Ohtani said. “And I also imagined that I would get this far with the contract I signed.”

Ohtani spent his first six MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or reached the playoffs during his tenure.

“We wouldn’t be here without him,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “We had a lot of injuries and there was a good period during the regular season where he single-handedly carried us.”

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.

Rookie Ben Casparius retired the side for the win and Blake Treinen the save in his first two-inning appearance since the 2021 NLCS.

Los Angeles trailed after Pete Alonso’s runscoring single against starter Michael Kopech.

Edman gave the Dodgers the lead for good with a two-run double in the bottom half off Sean Manaea that drove in Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, who both singled. Hernández posted an 0-for-18 skid.

Edman 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.

“I think the common theme for this season has been a lot of people, different guys have stepped up over the course of the season,” Ohtani said.

Edman sent a 400-foot shot to left-center for a two-run homer in a four-run third that included Smith’s 400-foot drive to center from Phil Maton that extended the lead to 6-1.

“I never thought once we acquired him that he would finish fourth in a postseason game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Edman. ‘But I trust him. The boys trust him. He made huge defensive plays for us and had huge hits.”

Vientos hit his fifth postseason homer, a two-run drive in the fourth Ryan Brasier cut the deficit to 6-3 in the fourth.

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.

New York left the bases loaded twice, as Anthony Banda struck out Jeff McNeil in the third and Jesse Winker flied out against Phillips in the sixth.

Los Angeles defeated New York 40-26 in the six games. The Mets came within two wins of reaching the World Series after starting 22-33 and earning the NL’s final wild card.

“These should be our expectations moving forward every year, we should be playing games well into October,” first-year manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Manaea lasted only two innings and gave up five runs and six hits. 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.

“I love this team. I love this organization. This fanbase has treated not only myself but also my family so well,” said Alonso.

The sold-out audience 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.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: 1B Freddie Freeman sat out for the third time in the postseason due to his sprained right ankle. He also missed Game 4 of the NLCS and Game 4 of the NLDS.

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APMLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb