Ohtani's Dodgers finish off Mets, will face Yankees in World Series

Shohei Ohtani carried the injury-riddled Los Angeles Dodgers to baseball's best record during the regular season. Tommy Edman joined the team in late July and helped them reach the World Series.

It's been that kind of year for the big-spending Dodgers. When Ohtani isn't amazing with his power at the plate and prowess on the basepaths, someone else is stepping up.

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

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

The Dodgers clinched their record 25th NL pennant, their fourth in eight years and first won at home since beating the Mets over seven games in 1988. They moved on to their 22nd World Series — 13th in Los Angeles — and first since 2020, when they beat Tampa Bay during the pandemic-delayed season.

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

Next up for Ohtani and Co. is Aaron Judge and the Yankees, back in the World Series for the 41st time and first in 15 years. The matchup, which opens at Dodger Stadium, features the top two home-run hitters in Judge (58) and Ohtani (54).

"It's kind of what the people wanted, what we all wanted," Dodgers star