Mookie drives Dodgers to doorstep of World Series: ‘He does special things’

NEW YORK — He’s the other guy in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ powerful lineup.

He’s the guy whose face isn’t plastered over every billboard in Los Angeles.

The guy who can actually have a peaceful dinner at a Beverly Hills restaurant without TMZ and every other camera crew following him.

The guy who’s a star in this game, but has never been compared to Babe Ruth, or proclaimed one of the greatest players in baseball history.

The name is Mookie Betts, and Thursday evening in the Dodgers’ 10-2 rout of the New York Mets — giving L.A. a 3-1 lead in the NLCS — he reminded everyone, loud and clear, of his otherworldly talent.

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“He’s one of the best players in the game,’’ Dodgers infielder Max Muncy said. “Sometimes, you just have to remind him of that. And sometimes, with games like this, he reminds you.’’

Betts put on a show in front of the sellout crowd of 43,882 at Citi Field, going 4-for-6 with a home run and four RBI, becoming only the third player in Dodgers history to produce at least four hits and drive in four runs in a postseason game.

“I can’t really describe it, but I felt pretty good,’’ Betts said. “It’s good to feel good. It’s good to help the team. It was fun.’’

Betts and Shohei Ohtani, who led off the game with a homer, combined for seven runs, tied for the most by a team’s first two hitters in the lineup in postseason history (last accomplished by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez with the 2004 New York Yankees).

“Mookie’s ridiculous,’’ said Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman, who batted cleanup. “He’s one of the best players in baseball, and he has been for a while. He works so hard, and him hitting behind Shohei, I don’t envy the opposing pitcher having to face those guys 1-2.’’

The Dodgers’ lineup has bludgeoned the Mets this series, outscoring them 30-9, and showing so much patience that they’ve already drawn 31 walks — the most in a four-game span in postseason history. Muncy reached base a postseason record 12 consecutive times this series, including three more walks Thursday. Ohtani walked three times after his leadoff homer. Teoscar Hernandez walked twice, and now has six walks this series.

“That’s what makes that team such a good team,’’ Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s not only Ohtani, it’s Mookie and Teoscar and it’s Freddie (Freeman). And you’ve got Muncy there, too, and Kiké (Hernandez) doing things that Kiké does this time of the year.

“I think it’s a deep lineup, but the biggest thing is they’re going to force you in the zone. They’re not going to chase. When you do come in the zone you have to execute. Because if not, they’re going to make you pay.’’

Betts did just that, again and again and again Thursday. He hit a one-out single in the third inning, leading to a two-run rally and a 3-1 lead. He hit a two-run double in the fourth inning, giving the Dodgers a 5-2 lead. And he hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, breaking the game open by giving the Dodgers a 7-2 lead.

Betts, an eight-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove winner, MVP winner, batting champion and two-time World Series champion, played in 67 prior career postseason games. Never, ever, has he had a game like this.

Those playoff ghosts suddenly have disappeared.

The hatred and vitriol on social media has vanished.

Betts, who erased his social media accounts last week while he was mired in a 3-for-44 postseason slump that drove him absolutely crazy, has triumphantly come out on the other side.

“You know, it’s tough to really get away from everything,’’ Betts said, “because everyone’s watching. There’s family, friends, you guys, everybody is watching. There’s no real way to get away from it.

“So really, just getting off social media, spending time with my kids, my wife, my family, that’s really the easiest way to get away from it. Sometimes, I just go into the locker room and just sit by myself to get away from all the things that are going on, and you can reset and come back to it.

“It’s tough, but if you want to do it, you’ll find a way.’’

That postseason slump, the one that haunted him the last two winters when the Dodgers had early exits, is finally over.

Betts is now hitting .333 in the Dodgers’ last seven postseason games, with two doubles, three homers, 10 RBI and eight runs, helping lead the Dodgers to the brink of the World Series.

“I mean, a lot stuff has clicked,’’ Betts said. “Today worked. But (Friday) is a new day, and I’ll come work and try and find the same feel.

“It’s just a lot of work. God really answering prayers.’’

The biggest difference now, the Dodgers say, is the confidence he is exuding at the plate, in the field, and in the clubhouse. He was taking 500 swings a day in the batting cage trying to get right, beating himself up. If he was going to struggle, he said, it wasn’t going to be from lack of work.

“Mookie’s still one of the best players in baseball,’’ Muncy said. “I know he gets a little bit overshadowed because we’ve got Shohei Ohtani, but Mookie’s still getting paid $400 million, too. Come on, look at what he’s done. It’s just that sometimes, we have to remind him.’’

Says Betts: “My teammates did an amazing job trying to instill confidence in me. Sometimes, I need that.’’

The Dodgers, of course, will tell you just how much they need him. They’re not going to get the ultimate prize, ride in that downtown parade, and become heroes that will be cherished forever in Los Angeles, without him.

“We need him, and he knows that,’’ Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez said. “He’s amazing. You learn a lot from a guy who’s won MVPs, World Series, all of the awards you can think about in baseball, and he has it.

“He’s just Mookie. He does special things.’’

He’s the reason, too, why pitchers are forced to face Ohtani, knowing that if they pitch around him, Betts can make them pay. When Ohtani led off the game with a 422-foot homer off Jose Quintana, the Mets pitched around him the rest of the game. Ohtani walked in his next three plate appearances. And all three times Betts immediately delivered a hit.

“It’s been fun being able to see him perform really well, obviously being in the situation where I’m on base,’’ Ohtani said. “He looks really good and locked in.’’

Really, the Dodgers say, it’s quite simple.

“It’s just Mookie,’’ Freeman says, “being Mookie.

“And it’s a beautiful thing.’’

Follow Bob Nightengale on X: @BNightengale

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