Pitch around Shohei Ohtani? Not when Mookie Betts is so hot

An obvious pattern developed Thursday in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

Immediately after Shohei Ohtani reached the third inning, Mookie Betts singled.

Immediately after Ohtani reached the fourth, Betts doubled.

Right after Ohtani pitched the sixth, Betts hit a home run.

In the previous three games, Betts was just one for 10, four for six, with four runs batted in and three runs scored.

That's exactly what the Dodgers expected from Betts. This is what they expected their offense to look like.

Now, after a 10-2 victory over the New York Mets at Citi Field, the Dodgers lead the best-of-seven series, three games to one. They came within one win of playing in their fourth World Series in eight seasons. They'll head into the potentially decisive game of this series on Friday, with Betts finally playing like Betts again.

In order for him to break out of his despair, Ohtani had to break out of his own.

In his first at-bat of the game, Ohtani got his first empty-bases hit of the postseason, crushing a 91-mph sinker from José Quintana that was left over center of the plate.

Distance traveled: 422 feet.

Exit velocity: 117.8 mph.

Result: home run.

Ohtani went hitless in his last 22 at-bats without a runner on base. He pointed to his team's bench as he began to round the bases, an acknowledgment of what Freddie Freeman had told him before the game. (Freeman was held for a sprained ankle.)

“Freddie told me before the game that we don't need another late show,” Ohtani explained in Japanese, a reference to the fact that he didn't hit a home run until the eighth inning in Game 3.

The Dodgers didn't stay ahead long as Mets third baseman Mark Vientos tied the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning. However, Ohtani's blast in the first inning affected the rest of the game. Quintana never challenged him again.

With the bases empty in the third inning, Ohtani walked on four pitches. With Chris Taylor on first base in the fourth, Ohtani issued another walk. With the bases empty again in the sixth, he again walked four pitches, this time with reliever José Buttó on the mound.

Each time Betts punished the opponent. His two-run home run in the sixth inning off Phil Maton increased the Dodgers' lead to 7-2 and put the game out of the Mets' limited reach.

“There was a stretch of about two or three at-bats, I don't think he saw anywhere near a pitch, which I understand,” Betts said of Ohtani.

Betts might have understood, but manager Dave Roberts suspected he was still offended.

“I think Mookie is taking it personally, as all competitors should,” Roberts said. “I do think something like that lights a little fire under him.”

Betts benefited from the Mets' fear of Ohtani, but Ohtani also benefited from Betts' performance. All three of his walks resulted in runs, including in the fourth inning when he scored from first on a double by Betts.

“I’m preparing to score if he scores,” Ohtani said. “Whether I’m first or second, if he scores, I want to have the mindset that I’m going to go home.”

For Betts, his breakthrough performance came as a relief. He had basically locked himself in the batting cage this week, throwing hundreds of hits a day.

When asked what inspired him to take such extreme measures to get back on track, Betts replied: “It's because of the lack of help I gave the team.”

Betts explained: “It’s not something I want to do. I don't want to slam all day. But it’s something I have to do because of my game.”

Based on Betts' play in Game 4, the decision of whether to play around Ohtani became more difficult for the Mets, as it did for the team playing the Dodgers in the World Series.

“It will be difficult to accompany him all the time, especially given the line-up and the guys, with Freddie also involved,” Betts said. “We'll see. If they want to continue doing that, that's fine. I just have to make sure I take care of my job.”

When Betts did that Thursday night, the Dodgers didn't just look like National League champions. They looked like World Series champs.