Shohei Ohtani did what the Mets could not. The superstar slugger punctuated the Dodgers’ 8-0 win in NLCS Game 3 with an exclamation point Wednesday night when he pummeled a belt-high cutter from Tylor Megill well above the right-field foul pole and halfway up Citi Field’s second deck. When the three-run home run finally landed, the Dodgers went up by seven runs in the eighth inning and were well on their way to a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven playoff series. With the mesmerizing moonshot, Ohtani improved to 7-for-9 with runners on base in these playoffs, compared to 0-for-22 with the bases empty. On Wednesday, the Mets had the opposite experience. They repeatedly put men on base against struggling Dodgers starter Walker Buehler, only to squander each scoring opportunity. They loaded the bases with one out in the second inning, but Buehler froze Francisco Alvarez with a third-strike fastball, then punched out a swinging Francisco Lindor with a 3-2 knucklecurve. In the third inning, Buehler snuck an 81-mph sweeper past J.D. Martinez to escape a two-on, two-out jam. The Mets came away empty despite putting six men on base in the first three innings against Buehler, who was 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in the regular season after missing nearly two years as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Buehler needed 90 pitches to get through four innings, but he ended up being a big reason why the Mets finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight baserunners. “They executed their pitches when we had people on base, and we didn’t execute,” Lindor said. “I didn’t execute. That’s what it comes down to. You’ve got to execute when you have people in scoring position.” The Mets went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position in Sunday’s 9-0 loss at Dodger Stadium in Game 1, then went 4-for-12 in their 7-3 win there in Monday’s Game 2. They’ve left 23 men on base through three games in the series. “We are creating traffic,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “I like the fact that we are getting guys on base. Just haven’t been able to come up with a big hit but I’ll continue to take my chances with guys. As long as we continue to create traffic, somebody’s going to come up and get that big one for us.” While the Mets failed to capitalize in their return to Citi Field, Ohtani did not. His 397-foot blast snapped a six-game homerless drought and improved his average in his first-ever postseason to .226. “It’s important for Shohei, certainly, to build some confidence,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. SHOHEI OHTANI SENDS THIS BASEBALL TO A DIFFERENT PLANET pic.twitter.com/9PRfNF0d3S — MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2024 It was the second home run of the playoffs for Ohtani, who is in the first season of a 10-year, $700 million contract featuring heavily deferred money. The two-way sensation, who did not pitch this year as he recovers from elbow surgery, is the favorite to win his third MVP Award after hitting 54 home runs and stealing 59 bases for the first 50-50 season in MLB history. His home run followed a Will Smith walk and an Enrique Hernandez single. “We’ve all seen the difference in the at-bats with runners on base and nobody on,” Hernandez said of Ohtani. “So, yeah, first two at-bats I was pretty upset I wasn’t able to get on for him.” That difference in Ohtani’s at-bats commanded enough attention that Roberts was asked before Game 3 if he would consider dropping the slugger out of the leadoff spot. “Early on — it’s just funny how things change — where there was a lot of concern about Shohei not being able to get hits with the runners in scoring position,” Roberts said Tuesday during a workout at Citi Field. “And now we’re all trying to find ways that [we] have to get guys on base so he can hit, right? I kind of find that comical.” Dating back to the regular season, Ohtani boasts 17 hits in his last 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position. “Regardless of however they are pitching to me, my plan is to stay with the same approach as much as possible and not really be too focused on how they attack me,” Ohtani said through an interpreter during Tuesday’s workout. “In terms of the lineup, that is not my job to consider. I’m going to be as flexible as possible, regardless of any situation or anywhere in the lineup that I am placed in.” Ohtani’s home run was one for the Dodgers on Wednesday, with Hernandez and Max Muncy providing the others. The Mets, meanwhile, hit three balls that traveled at least 350 feet, but none left the park on a chilly night in Queens. “They hit it out,” said Lindor, whose 350-foot drive in the fifth inning resulted in a flyout. “Just not us.”