NEW YORK – Shohei Ohtani looked less than comfortable in Game 3 of the World Series after his shoulder injury in Game 2.

It didn’t matter much to the Dodgers.

Instead, it was a big start from Walker Buehler and two timely goals from Ohtani’s fellow MVPs, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, that proved to be the difference in Los Angeles’ 4-2 victory over the Yankees on Monday in the Bronx in Game 3. of this World Series. With that, the Dodgers claimed a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

While it certainly wasn’t the most explosive outing from the Dodgers offense — only four runs on five hits — Game 3 still illustrated how exhausting it is for a starting pitcher to navigate LA’s lineup. Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt walked Ohtani to start the game — an immediate reminder that even with a bothered shoulder and limited success in the series thus far, Ohtani is a threat every time he steps into the box.

The first of two lengthy battles between Schmidt and Betts ensued, with Betts flying to left field after Schmidt’s seventh offering. Freeman emerged ready to further strengthen his case for World Series MVP.

“Luckily he threw all three pitches in the first three pitches,” said Freeman, who had never played against Schmidt in his career before Monday. “He went sweeper on the first pitch and then went cutter-up, and then he threw the knuckle curve. So I saw all three pitches. I was okay with leaving two hits because I got to see everything he had.

On the fourth pitch, Schmidt went back to the cutter and in — a very similar spot from which Freeman had taken a 97 mph fastball from Carlos Rodón to right field for a home run in Game 2.

“I don’t think he was trying to throw that cutter in that spot,” Freeman said afterward.

But that’s where that cutter went, and again Freeman connected in a big way. The ball exploded off his bat and enjoyed the short journey to the short right-field porch of Yankee Stadium before crashing into the crowd. Seven minutes into Game 3, the Dodgers had a 2-0 lead and the positive buzz that had been building in the Bronx disappeared.

In the top of the third, it was Betts’ turn to extend the lead, albeit with a very different genre of offensive excellence. After a walk on the leadoff, Tommy Edman advanced to second base on a groundout by Ohtani, leaving Betts to face Schmidt with a runner in scoring position. Monday’s game also marked the first time Betts has played against Schmidt in his career. Although Schmidt had Betts flying out in his first at-bat, he failed to get even a whiff of the stingy Betts, whose exceptional contact skills remain the core feature of his elite offensive profile.

That trend continued during their lengthy second meeting. Schmidt quickly fell behind 2-0 with a high cutter and a sinker that ran low and in for ball two. But the right-hander returned to attack mode, throwing his entire arsenal at different parts of the zone in search of a much-needed out as the pitch count increased. On the ninth pitch, Schmidt went with his high-spin knuckle curve, but instead of breaking off sharply below the zone, he backed up to the inner half, where Betts could handle it.

It was hardly the crisp contact that Freeman achieved against Schmidt, but Betts made contact anyway, sending the ball soaring high over first baseman Anthony Rizzo’s head before it plopped into the grass just inside the right field line in front of Juan Soto, allowing Edman to round racing. and score the Dodgers’ third run.

Schmidt had tried everything, even yielding weak contact from Betts — his RBI single had a measly exit velocity of 70 mph — but it wasn’t good enough. Of the 68 pitches Schmidt threw in his abbreviated outing in Game 3, 16, or 23.5% (three sweepers, four sinkers, four knuckle curves and five cutters) were deployed during his two matchups with Betts.

“That was one of the at-bats that set the tone,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “Tommy did a great job reading the ball off the bat, making contact and scoring straight away. But that at-bat to just win pitches, come down with two strikes and keep fighting to still score a run – we did that all night.

“I thought we had really good at bats. Mookie sets the tone.”

In the bottom of the fourth, it was Betts’ glovework that once again brought a sigh of disappointment from the Yankee Stadium crowd looking for a reason to get excited. With Giancarlo Stanton at second base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. smelled. a line drive to Betts in right field. Betts’ initial jump suggested he expected the hard-hit ball to come more towards the right-center hole of the field, but the ball had a huge amount of topspin, causing it to fly to the ground at unusual speed.

This forced Betts to make a last-minute decision: either stay up and play the ball leaping, resulting in the goal, or make a desperate, diving attempt to snare the ball – risking it bouncing past him and no one withdrew. him up.

With six Gold Gloves and an exceptional combination of athleticism, coordination and confidence, Betts opted for the latter, diving forward and grabbing the ball just above the grass for a handy second out.

With two championships and a wealth of accolades already amassed during his eleven-year career, Betts has little left to prove; his status as one of the greatest players of his generation and a likely future Hall of Famer is firmly assured. But for a player who understands the sky-high expectations for himself and his high-profile team, Betts’ standout postseason is a refreshing bit of redemption after his two most recent trips to October, which were hardly a reflection of his talent.

Betts went 2-for-14 in the Dodgers’ NLDS loss to San Diego in 2022 and 0-for-11 against Arizona in Los Angeles’ shocking NLDS exit in 2023. Holding such a small sample size against the superstar is certainly unfair, but as one of the faces of this franchise, his lack of impact the past two Octobers lingered into the winter after Dodgers campaigns that ended in disappointing fashion.

This current run, which has L.A. within one win of a World Series, is much more reminiscent of Betts’ first October in Dodger Blue in 2020, when the team stormed through the expanded postseason field to win the franchise’s first championship since 1988 . Corey Seager’s epic performance earned him MVP honors in both the NLCS and World Series. Betts was a steady and productive presence as LA’s leadoff man, hitting .296/.378/.493 in 18 games with two home runs, both in the World Series against Tampa Bay.

In October, Betts is hitting .291/.394/.582 with more walks than strikeouts while showing consistent top-level glovework in right field. He has hit four home runs in 13 games, the same number as in 58 postseason games before 2024. Thanks to Tommy Edman’s NLCS breakthrough and Freeman’s World Series surge, Betts is unlikely to collect any individual postseason hardware. But his consistent contributions on both sides of the ball are a big reason why the Dodgers are one win away from the only award anyone in their clubhouse cares about.

“He’s Mookie Betts,” Freeman said after Game 3. “I think everyone was a little concerned (after) those first few games in San Diego in the LDS” — when Betts went 0-for-6, another small example of failure, indicative of the level he maintains – “but we all know it’s Mookie Betts. He’s one of the best players of all time.”

Betts has understood the assignment for the 2024 Dodgers from the start. At the team’s FanFest in early February, following a historic offseason filled with big-name acquisitions, Betts didn’t shy away from what was expected of a team with a roster with such an overwhelming amount of star-level talent.

“It’s World Series or nothing,” he said at the time. “You know it’s going to be hard. Every game is going to be the other team’s World Series. It is what it is, but we signed up for it. We have to embrace that.”

Of course, there were some twists and turns and turbulent times along the way. But the 2024 Dodgers amassed baseball’s best regular-season record and are now poised to defeat the team with the best record in the American League to achieve that lofty goal they set for themselves all those months ago .

For Betts, it was World Series or nothing – and if his recent play is any indication, nothing was never really an option. For Freeman – who has the World Series MVP all but locked up should the Dodgers indeed secure the fourth and final win in the coming days – adding to his personal trophy collection means little compared to the collective goal ahead of his team.

“I really just want to hoist that trophy,” he said. “I don’t care how that happens. I don’t care if I go 0-for-the-next-70 with 70 strikeouts. As long as we win, that’s all I care about.”