NEW YORK — Everything starts with Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor in this National League Championship Series.
Right at the top of the lineup.
Expected to run 1-2 in NL MVP voting, both leadoff batters already have made a big impact early in their playoff showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
And they know full well only one of them will reach the World Series.
“I think both of us are in this position where what we did in the regular season is over and what matters is how we produce, what we produce during the postseason,” Ohtani said Tuesday through an interpreter. “I do think we’re perhaps connected in the same sense.”
With the best-of-seven series tied 1-1, the scene shifts to Citi Field for Game 3 on Wednesday night, when Walker Buehler is scheduled to pitch for Los Angeles against Luis Severino.
After the Mets held a casual workout in the late afternoon, Ohtani and the Dodgers took batting practice under the ballpark lights Tuesday evening.
Ohtani said his impression of Lindor “is that he’s a really good guy. He smiles a lot. I do feel like he’s leading the club as well.”
Lindor was asked what he admires in particular about his ultra-talented Dodgers counterpart.
“I admire his shoes. He’s got cool cleats,” the Mets’ star shortstop said, drawing laughter from reporters in the interview room.
“I admire the ability to stay within himself. I mean, he’s a guy that, from day one, has had a lot of pressure on him. There’s been a lot of eyes and cameras on him, and his ability to stay within himself and to not get too big and to stay the course, that, to me, that’s brilliant. He’s done a fantastic job of everywhere he’s gone, he has managed to maneuver himself the right way.”
All those qualities were on display as the teams split the first two games at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani, mostly held in check this month during his first postseason, had an RBI single early in the series opener and rocketed another single off the right-center fence that led to two more runs. He also drew a walk and scored twice as Los Angeles rolled to a 9-0 rout.
Lindor, who was 0 for 3 with a walk in Game 1, immediately took his turn the next day when he launched a leadoff homer to cap an eight-pitch at-bat after fouling off four straight offerings from Ryan Brasier.
With that, New York was right back in the series.
“I just love getting things started,” Lindor said. “I think it’s kind of cool to be able to get a base hit, steal a base, or a home run or double. And you just get the crowd and team going.”
