Ohtani and Lindor leading the way as Dodgers-Mets NLCS shifts to NYC for Game 3 on Wednesday

NEW YORK (AP) — 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 have already 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-all, 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.

The drive ended a 33-inning scoreless streak for Dodgers pitchers that equaled a postseason record.

An inning later, Los Angeles walked Lindor intentionally to load the bases for Mark Vientos, who hit a grand slam that gave the Mets a 6-0 lead on the way to a 7-3 victory in Game 2.

With that, New York was right back in the series.

“I just love getting things started,” Lindor said. “You just get the crowd and team going.”

Ohtani also has taken to his leadoff role, which used to be an unusual spot to place such a powerful hitter.

Not anymore, though.

“I think we have complete solace in knowing that giving our best hitter five cracks to be instant offense, and also believing that the guys in the bottom of the order can create some havoc and get on base. And I thought we did that really well in Game 1," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

"Just give him opportunities. ... I can’t predict the game. So I feel good about what I can predict is Shohei hitting 1 and getting the most of the at-bats from our offense.”

The temperature at first pitch Wednesday night is expected to be just above 50 degrees and falling. It was a pleasant 73 degrees for each of the first two games in Los Angeles.

“Obviously, the East Coast/West Coast, LA/New York thing is pretty cool. I imagine it’s going to be rocking here tomorrow. That’s what excites me more than anything is the noise and the excitement. And the kind of live-or-die feeling on every pitch is something I’ve really grown to love,” Buehler said.

“I love pitching in the cold, personally. I don’t know why or how. When I was in college (at Vanderbilt), I think I had the first 10 starts that were under 30 degrees one year. So something I’m used to, or at least used to be used to.”

Buehler went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts this season after missing 2023 following his second Tommy John surgery. He took the loss in Game 3 of the Division Series at San Diego, but gave up all six runs in one inning and was a little unfortunate during that outing.

“I feel confident. So I think that probably was one of my biggest strengths for a long time was my confidence, I guess,” Buehler said. “At times this year that’s kind of wavered somewhat. The past six or eight (starts), I’ve kind of felt like I’ve been building blocks of some kind. And hoping to keep that going.”

Severino is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two playoff starts after going 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA during his first season with the Mets. He has thrown 194 innings including the postseason this year, and will be pitching on nine days' rest.

“I think my arm, right now, feels the same way, feels good. I just need to stick to my routine,” Severino said.

The right-hander said he would go back and watch how Padres pitcher Yu Darvish had success against Ohtani during their Division Series.

“He’s been a big-game pitcher. There’s some guys that have history with him,” Roberts said. “We’ll be ready for whatever he has planned for us.”

Roberts said second baseman Gavin Lux was feeling much better and is expected back in the lineup Wednesday night. Lux missed Game 2 because of a right hip flexor injury that forced him out of the series opener in the seventh inning.

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

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza talks to the media, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Mets pitcher Luis Severino talks to the media Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani talks to the media Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani talks to the media Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani adjusts his microphone as he talks to the media Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza talks to the media Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts talks to the media Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler talks to the media Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers players throw during a workout Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Los Angeles Dodgers players throw during a workout Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor celebrates after reaching first base on a throwing error from Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy during the sixth inning in Game 2 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani talks to the media Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in New York ahead of Game 3 of the baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a government shutdown deadline, the Senate rushed through final passage early Saturday of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, dropping President-elect Donald Trump's demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day's outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”

The House approved Johnson's new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.

“This is a good outcome for the country, ” Johnson said after the House vote, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.”

President Joe Biden, who has played a less public role in the process throughout a turbulent week, was expected to sign the measure into law Saturday.

“There will be no government shutdown," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

The final product was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered House speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. And it raised stark questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry GOP colleagues, and work alongside Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who called the legislative plays from afar.

Trump's last-minute demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there wouldn’t be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, since many Republican deficit hawks prefer to slash the federal government and certainly wouldn’t allow more debt.

Instead, the Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate next year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.

“So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” scoffed Musk on social media ahead of the vote.

The drastically slimmed-down 118-page package would fund the government at current levels through March 14 and add $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.

Gone is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.

It’s essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback — opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s debt ceiling demand.

But it's far smaller than the original bipartisan accord Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders — a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills — including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers — but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law.

House Democrats were cool to the latest effort after Johnson reneged on the hard-fought bipartisan compromise.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.

“Who is in charge?” she asked during the debate.

Still, the House Democrats put up more votes than Republicans for the bill's passage. Almost three dozen conservative House Republicans voted against it.

“The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans all across the nation,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, referring to Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.

In the Senate, almost all the opposition came from the Republicans — except independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said Musk's interference was “not democracy, that's oligarchy.”

Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency.

The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees and is counting on Republicans for a big tax package. And Trump's not fearful of shutdowns the way lawmakers are, having sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House.

“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted early in the morning on social media.

More important for the president-elect was his demand for pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt limit expires Jan. 1, and Trump doesn't want the first months of his new administration saddled with tough negotiations in Congress to lift the nation's borrowing capacity. Now Johnson will be on the hook to deliver.

“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump posted — increasing his demand for a new five-year debt limit increase. "Without this, we should never make a deal."

Government workers had already been told to prepare for a federal shutdown that would send millions of employees — and members of the military — into the holiday season without paychecks.

Biden has been in discussions with Jeffries and Schumer, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “Republicans blew up this deal. They did, and they need to fix this.”

As the day dragged on, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stepped in to remind colleagues “how harmful it is to shut the government down, and how foolish it is to bet your own side won’t take the blame for it.”

At one point, Johnson asked House Republicans at a lunchtime meeting for a show of hands as they tried to choose the path forward.

It wasn’t just the shutdown, but the speaker’s job on the line. The speaker’s election is the first vote of the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, and some Trump allies have floated Musk for speaker.

Johnson said he spoke to Musk ahead of the vote Friday and they talked about the “extraordinary challenges of this job.”

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick, Darlene Superville and Bill Barrow contributed to this report.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., celebrates as the Senate begins voting on the government funding bill just in time to meet the midnight deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., celebrates as the Senate begins voting on the government funding bill just in time to meet the midnight deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Capitol is pictured in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., emerges from a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., emerges from a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., talks with reporters after attending a meeting with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., as the House works on a spending bill to avert a shutdown of the Federal Government, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

FILE - President-elect Donald Trump poses for a photo with Dana White, Kid Rock and Elon Musk at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks briefly to reporters just before a vote on an interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. The vote failed to pass. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)