A stiff breeze gusting up to 16 miles per hour blew from left field to right field at chilly Citi Field on Wednesday night, knocking down two Francisco Lindor drives that hit the warning track in center field in the first inning and in left in the fifth inning Field died, and a 388-foot drive by Mark Vientos that failed against the centerfield wall in the fifth.

Even though Kiké Hernández, the Dodgers' utility man, felt like he had taken an 88-mile-per-hour cutting fastball from New York Mets reliever Reed Garrett early in the sixth and hit a high shot to deep Sent to left field, there was no guarantee that what looked like a sure home run with his bat would leave the yard.

It wasn't until the ball passed the glove of leaping left fielder Brandon Nimmo and settled over the wall in the first row of seats that Hernández was sure he would score a two-run blast that turned a two-run lead into a four-run one. Run lead turned what much-needed breathing room into an 8-0 victory in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series over the Mets.

“I knew I hit it, and I thought it was going to be way away, and then I saw Nimmo try to jump on it,” Hernández said after the Dodgers were in the best-of-seven series had taken a 2-1 lead. “I panicked for half a second. The wind kind of scared me. But regardless of whether it was an inside-the-Parker, a homer is a homer.”

The Dodgers held on to a 2-0 lead after scoring two unearned runs off Mets starter Luis Severino in the second and failed to gain a win after loading the bases with one out and the runners with two in the third Outs put in on second and third were the fifth.

But Tommy Edman provided the spark in the sixth with a two-out single to right and took second after blocking. Hernández fell behind 1 and 2 in the count before fouling out on a 90 mph splitter and a 98 mph fastball that was well above the zone.

Garrett, who had thrown five scoreless innings in his first four playoff games, then left an 88-mph splitter a little inside to Hernández, who hit a home run for a 4-0 lead.

“Immensely,” manager Dave Roberts said when asked how much Hernández's home run changed the game. “We found a way to get lucky and score a couple of runs in the second, but for Kiké to have that (six-pitch) hit, get the ball into the zone and hit a home run, it was huge.”It was that biggest hit of the game.”

Hernández, batting ninth, said his focus in Game 3 was getting on leadoff man Shohei Ohtani's base, and when he struck out in the second and flew to left in the fourth, “I was pretty upset.” Hernandez said. When he fell behind in the sixth, his “whole mentality” was to get on base.

“I tried to fight and put myself in a position to go or take a hit,” Hernández said. “I threw a punch that was probably the height of a man and was able to block it. I told myself to slow down because I caught myself in swing mode. The very next pitch he hung a splinter and I was able to get enough of it.”

Hernández finally got on base for Ohtani in the eighth after he followed Will Smith's leadoff walk with a one-out single to right center. Ohtani followed with a three-run home run to the second deck in right field that left his bat at 115.9 mph and traveled 410 feet – and right over the foul pole – for a 7-0 lead .

“That ball was 100 feet over the foul pole,” said third baseman Max Muncy, who hit a solo home run in the ninth, hit a single in the third and walked three times. “The foul pole isn’t high enough for that.”

Ohtani's Blast continued a stunning playoff trend in which he posted a .778 batting average (seven for nine) with two home runs and eight RBIs with men on bases and went hitless in 22 at-bats with the bases empty.

“He’s the best player on the field every day – oh, he hasn’t scored when there’s no one on the field? “Who cares,” right fielder Mookie Betts said. “It’s Shohei Ohtani. Every time he enters the box everyone expects something to happen. That's the problem. He's done it so many times that you expect it. He’s a man for (22) bats.”

Ohtani's home run provided enough cushion for Roberts to avoid using heavily indebted relievers Evan Phillips, Anthony Banda and Daniel Hudson and let low-leverage right-hander Ben Casparius pitch the final two innings, preserving more of the bullpen for Games 4 and 5 .

“In a long line,” Roberts said, “these things are important.”

This also applies to current October hits, which Hernández has made a habit of. In 78 playoff games with the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, Hernández is batting .280 with a .903 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 15 home runs and 32 RBIs. He is a career .238 hitter with an OPS of .713 in 11 regular seasons.

“I think some people just really like the moment,” backup catcher Austin Barnes said. “Playoffs can be uncomfortable for some people, but I think he's one of those guys who can focus and persevere in those moments. And he wants the moment. It’s a talent and a skill.”