NEW YORK – When Shohei Ohtani entered the eighth inning on Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers were already in control.

As soon as the ball left his bat, Game 3 of the National League Championship Series was over.

Ohtani launched a three-run home run and the Dodgers pulled away, earning an 8-0 win over the troubled New York Mets that gave them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Kiké Hernández hit a two-run shot in the sixth with his 15th career postseason home run to make it 4-0 and waved to the crowd at Citi Field, which he silenced. Los Angeles rebounded from a home loss to post its fourth shutout in its last five playoff games.

“These guys are locked up. And they understand that their job is to prevent runs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And I think we play good defense, too.”

Game 4 is Thursday night in Queens. $325 million rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto is scheduled to face veteran left-hander Jose Quintana in Los Angeles.

Ohtani scored for a massive 410-foot drive that rocketed into the second deck in right field. He gave in a little at home plate as he watched the ball barely stay over the foul pole.

Max Muncy hit his 13th postseason home run in the ninth, tying Corey Seager and Justin Turner for the franchise record. Muncy also scored in Game 2.

“It’s definitely a blessing. “I can’t be grateful enough that I had the opportunity to play enough games to reach these numbers,” he said. “I am grateful to be part of a team and organization that makes the postseason every year.”

Dodgers starter Walker Buehler struck out Francisco Lindor on a full-count knuckle curve, leaving the bases loaded in the second.

An excited Buehler yelled as he left the mound and then headed back toward Lindor.

“That was the heart of the game,” Roberts said. “Obviously the audience was thrilled. They gained momentum. Getting the ball under the zone and getting a great hitter out was huge. And I think that just speaks to the experience.”

No. 9 hitter Francisco Alvarez fanned right in front of Lindor and went to the ground, looking up all three times. New York left six runners on the first three innings against Buehler when the game was still close.

“Walker, he’s a different animal in the postseason. “I don’t care what his numbers are in the regular season, especially this year after second Tommy John surgery,” Muncy said. “We all knew he was going to be Walker Buehler as soon as we got into this situation, and he definitely was that tonight.”

Buehler had been winless since May 18 during an injury-plagued season and was making his 17th career postseason start. He struck out six in four three-hit innings after failing to strike out a batter in their Division Series loss to San Diego.

“Playing in big games is literally the only thing that interests me,” said Buehler, who gave up his windup early in the game and began practicing exclusively off track because of his cold right foot couldn't feel it on a hard hill.

“This is definitely a big momentum win for us. But if we don’t do anything with it, then it doesn’t really matter.”

Buehler combined for a four-hitter with four relievers as the Dodgers pitched five close innings from their hard-throwing bullpen.

“This guy has proven year after year that when there’s a big game and the Dodgers need a win, he’s the man to go,” Hernández said.

Michael Kopech earned the win with a fifth no-hitter, and the Dodgers pitchers finished the game with 13 strikeouts.

Mets starter Luis Severino fell 2-0 in the second, due in part to poor fielding. He did not allow an earned run but threw 95 pitches and walked four in 4 2/3 innings, earning the loss.

Collapsing catcher Will Smith scored a run on an infield single, and Tommy Edman had a sacrifice fly that could have been more if Tyrone Taylor hadn't made a sensational catch on the warning track in right-center.

Los Angeles pitched consecutive shutouts against San Diego and won the heated Division Series after losing two games to one. Jack Flaherty and the Dodgers then defeated the Mets 9-0 in the NLCS opener on Sunday, extending the team's scoreless streak to 33 innings, a postseason record.

The only recent blip for the pitching staff came Monday, when Lindor hit a leadoff home run and the Mets won 7-3 at Chavez Ravine.

Ohtani entered his first postseason batting .222 with one home run and five RBI. The $700 million superstar provided the offense in Game 1 against the Mets, but had not gone deep since his first three-run home run early in the Division Series opener.

“It’s certainly important for Shohei to build some confidence,” Roberts said.

When he hit an 0-1 cutter by Tylor Megill in the eighth, Ohtani pointed toward the Dodgers' dugout. The ball was originally declared fair, a decision that stood after a retest.

“I just threw it into his honey hole and he slammed it onto the upper deck,” Megill said.

Coming off the regular season, Ohtani has 17 hits and 27 RBI, including seven home runs, in his last 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position. The leadoff hitter is 0-for-22 with the bases empty this postseason. With runners, he is 7-of-9 with two home runs and eight RBI.

Los Angeles improved to 4-0 at Citi Field this year, outscoring New York 26-5. That includes a three-game win in late May that dropped the Mets to 22-33 and marked the nadir of their roller-coaster season.

“I like the fact that we have people on base. “I just haven’t been able to achieve much success,” said New York manager Carlos Mendoza. “As long as we continue to generate traffic, someone will come and get that big order for us.”

TRAINER ROOM

Dodgers: 2B Gavin Lux was back in the lineup, batting sixth. Lux missed Game 2 with a right hip flexor injury that forced him out of the series opener in the seventh inning.

NEXT

Yamamoto (7-2, 3.00 ERA) struggled in the Division Series opener against San Diego, but then threw five scoreless innings of two-hit ball last Friday and won the deciding Game 5. He hit 39 of 63 pitches for strikes.

Quintana (10-10, 3.75 ERA) has not allowed an earned run through 11 innings in two playoff starts, both without a decision. Going back to August 25, the 35-year-old Quintana has given up just three earned runs in eight starts over 47 1/3 innings.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb