LOS ANGELES — Dodgers MVP Shohei Ohtani didn’t homer, or do anything spectacular, but his bat certainly made a fabulous first impression.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, who fans were trying to run out of town just a few weeks ago, had the game of his life.
Hyesong Kim, the Dodgers’ free-agent signing who drew barely any attention, showed why the Dodgers think he’ll be a star.
And, there was Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is quickly establishing himself as the ultimate Yankee killer, performing his magic again.
By the end of Saturday night, the Dodgers showed the New York Yankees that the World Series runs through Los Angeles, routing the Yankees, 18-2, in front of 51,746 fans screaming like it was October once again.
It was the Yankees’ most-lopsided loss since 2019, and 16 years since they’ve lost by a bigger margin.
‘You could say it was a statement,’ said Muncy, who hit two home runs and drove in a career-high seven runs. ‘And for us to do it without [injured] Mookie [Betts] also is huge for everyone trying to pick up the slack in the lineup. It’s big for the boys.’
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who celebrated his 53rd birthday Saturday, wasn’t about to create any back-page material for October, but acknowledged the impact of knocking off the Yankees in consecutive games, picking up right where they left off last October.
“It’s certainly sweet to win any game,’’ Roberts said, “but to beat those guys is always good. It always feels good to beat the Yankees. You know, they’re the class of the American League right now, and anytime you can beat those guys, you feel good.’’
The terrifying aspect for everyone else is that if the Dodgers can pummel the Yankees with 14 pitchers currently on the injured list, with Betts out for the series with a broken toe, and Ohtani not expected to resume pitching until after the All-Star break, how powerful will they be when they get the band back together?
The Dodgers came into the weekend series having lost seven of their last 12 games, and were just 26-22 since their 8-0 start. Yet, they turned around and beat up Yankees ace Max Fried and starter Will Warren on back-to-back nights, outscoring the Yankees 24-2 in the last 13 innings. They’ve suffocated everyone in the Yankees’ lineup but Aaron Judge, who has hit three homers this series.
“You know the last couple of weeks has certainly been a grind with all of the stuff we’ve been going through,’’ Roberts said. “But obviously when you get the Yankees and fans get into it, it just kind of infuses some excitement into the clubhouse and guys showed up and given what these fans want. It’s been a fun series for us. … It’s kind of like that playoff environment.’’
So, considering they knocked off the Yankees in the World Series last season, are the Dodgers making a powerful statement by whipping them again?
“No, I wouldn’t say statement, that’s a good club over there,’’ Roberts said. “I’m just happy with the process and how we’re taking the field and going about playing baseball …
“We’ve sort of been playing middling baseball for a while now, so maybe it took a club like the Yankees to get us reset and step our game up.’’
The truth is that the Dodgers offense has been lethal since April 22, scoring 240 runs — 51 more than any team in baseball, averaging 6.9 runs a game. Ohtani tied a franchise record with 15 homers in May. Kim, who opened the year in the minors, reached base in all five plate appearances with two singles, double, homer and walk. Muncy, who was hitting .190 with one homer and a .599 OPS before May 14, has since hit .298 with a 1.048 OPS, including four homers and 22 RBI.
“Max, it’s been a tough one to start,’’ Roberts said, “but I give him a lot of credit. He hasn’t wavered from the work. He hasn’t run from the criticism. And he’s showing up every day to play and help us win a ballgame.
And, of course, there’s Freeman, who’s hitting a National League-leading .374 with a 1.078 OPS.
This is a guy who turned the World Series upside down a year ago when he pulled off his Kirk Gibson moment with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning, hitting .300 with four homers and 12 RBI while winning the World Series MVP.
Now, he’s performing an encore.
Freeman went 2-for-3 with an RBI, hitting his 525th career double that tied Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Ted Williams for 46th place on the all-time list, while continuing to torment the Yankees. In his last seven games against the Yankees, he is hitting .407 with four homers, three doubles, one triple and 14 RBI.
“I mean, he handles everything in the zone,’’ Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said. “He’s so short to the ball, fastballs, off-speed pitches. He’s always in a good position to hit.
“That’s why he’s one of the best hitters in the league and has been for 10 or 15 years. …I can go on and on, he’s such a professional hitter, and a lot of those guys are in that lineup.’’
That, of course, is why the Dodgers have won two World Series in the past five years, with 11 division titles in the last 12 years.
“I mean, there’s a lot of guys in this clubhouse that never really cease to amaze me,’’ said Muncy, who was presented the lineup card for hitting his career 200th homer. “You can go up and down the lineup. It’s really special when you see the names that are in this clubhouse, and see how hard they work every single day.
“When you have an entire clubhouse of guys that are going to be Hall of Famers, and they’re still showing up every day working like they’re a young guy, I think that just rubs off on everybody.’’
Yep, just ask rookie catcher Dalton Rushing, who hit his first career homer Saturday, with the help of Ohtani’s bat. While Ohtani had retreated to the clubhouse after being taken out of the game, Rushing grabbed one of his bats, seeing if it had the same kind of magic that has helped Ohtani win three MVPs.
Lo and behold, he swung at the first pitch thrown by infielder Pablo Reyes, and sent it 393 feet over the right-field fence.
“He hits plenty of home runs, so I’m sure it can work for someone else, too,’’ Rushing said laughing. “It worked out in my favor.
“Now, I look forward to getting my first one off a real pitcher.’’
For the Dodgers, it has been that kind of weekend.
Follow Bob Nightengale on X @BNightengale.