The Dodgers followed their October script to perfection in winning NLCS Game 3 against the Mets

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers president of baseball operations, often refers to the playoffs as “October theater.”

But when his team executes its preferred postseason game script, it can suck all the theatrics out of the equation.

That's exactly what happened in the Dodgers' 8-0 victory over the New York Mets in a pivotal Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night.

They grabbed an early lead from their lineup. They got a solid, albeit brief outing from their starter. And then they called upon a parade of dominant relievers from the bullpen, racking up nine more shutouts as most of the Citi Field crowd headed for an early exit.

It may not be an orthodox October plan, but it's the best fit for the Dodgers' reliever-reliant pitching staff and shorthanded starting rotation. And now, after executing it with ruthless perfection, the Dodgers are back in control with a two-game-to-one lead, holding a chance to complete the seven-game series before heading back to LA.

“I feel good where we are right now,” said manager Dave Roberts, who confirmed the Dodgers will start their two best pitchers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty, over the next two days.

“We're obviously happy,” outfielder Mookie Bates added. “But it wasn't done.”

It may be true. But if the Dodgers continue to replicate Wednesday's blueprint, a trip back to the World Series might not be too far off.

In their fourth shutout win in the last five games, there was no late drama. No back and forth lead changes. Just some consistent Dodgers offense, combined with more dominance from a lights out pitching staff.

The Dodgers capitalized on several Mets miscues in the second inning, scoring two crucial runs to open the scoring. They saw Walker Buehler in and out of danger through four scoreless innings, with the right-hander managing to compensate for his spotty command enough to swing and miss.

Then, with the help of late home runs by Kike Hernandez, Shohei Ohtani and Max Muncy, the reliable relief corps took over, going five scoreless innings to continue his breathtaking form and reassert the Dodgers' control of the series.

“We're just waiting to pitch,” reliever Blake Treinen, who pitched a scoreless seventh inning, said of the bullpen. “So when we have a lead, we can all pitch a little more.”

That didn't happen in Game 2, when the Dodgers' bullpen imploded before the game even got to their most trusted weapon. Wednesday, however, was a different story from the start.

After Muncie walked to start the second inning, Teoscar Hernandez hit a swinging bunt in front of the plate that Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez knocked unconscious to second, a low throw that eluded teammate Jose Iglesias to allow both runners to reach safety.

Starting pitcher (and Gold Glove finalist) Luis Severino made a few defensive mistakes himself, misplacing a pair of comebackers near the mound that allowed a run to score and setting up Tommy Edman for a sacrifice fly later in the inning.

Mets center fielder Tyron Taylor avoided a big collision with right fielder Starling Mart and made a sliding catch on a sacrifice fly by Tommy Edman in the second inning Wednesday.

(Wally Scaliz/Los Angeles Times)

And from there, the Dodgers never looked back.

Buehler's start was a grind — but punctuated by some gratifying moments.

Only 51 of his 90 pitches found the zone. He threw a first-pitch strike less than half the time. And he issued two walks while hitting a batter, creating traffic on the bases that put him under constant pressure.

Situations like this, however, are where Buhler has thrived in his postseason career (last week's six-run clunker against the San Diego Padres aside).

And on Wednesday, he got out of every threat and fooled Mets hitters with a curveball that got whiffs in six of seven swings, including an inning-ending strikeout of Francisco Lindor in the second with the bases loaded; a sweeper who struck out six of nine swings, including an inning-ending strikeout by J.D. Martinez, and two in the third; and six total strikeouts, several of them followed by roars of fire as Buehler walked off the mound.

“Being in the big game, I literally care about everything,” said Buehler, whose 18 playoff hits rank second in Dodgers history. “I want 25 guys in the locker room who believe I'm going to give us a really good chance to win. If I somehow make it into our locker room, I'll be the proudest when I'm done.”

Meanwhile, the Dodgers continued to add.

In the sixth, Kike Hernandez battled through a two-strike count before belting a two-run home run to left, mashing his second long ball of the postseason to carry a team-best .333 batting average into these playoffs.

“Biggest hit of the game,” Roberts said, emphasizing the difference between 2-0 and 4-0 leads.

In the eighth, Ohtani snapped a 2-for-15 skid with a huge, three-run blast inside the right field foul pole, sending the 43,883-person crowd into the opener with his second home run of the playoffs.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani follows through with a three-run home run during the eighth inning of Game 3 of the NLCS against the Mets at Citi Field on Wednesday.

(Wally Scaliz/Los Angeles Times)

In the ninth, Muncie went deep, completing a night in which he reached base in all five trips to the plate (he also walked three and had a single) with his 13th career postseason blast, tying a Dodgers record.

All that production, however, proved to be excessive. Once the Dodgers turned the game over to the bullpen, the Mets never showed a spark of life again.

Michael Kopech, the closest thing the Dodgers had at the end of the regular season, came out of the bullpen first in the fifth inning, retiring the team in order despite several warning-track scares.

Game 2 opener Ryan Brescia ran into trouble briefly in the sixth but skirted a two-on, one-out jam with an inning-ending double play. Treinen, the team's most trusted relief arm, worked a clean seventh, seemingly giving up eighth and ninth to Daniel Hudson and Evan Phillips.

But after second-deck drives from Ohtani and Muncie, the Dodgers needed two mop-up innings to replace Ben Casperius.

“These things are important,” Roberts said.

Especially for a team that is now just two wins away from its first World Series since 2020, Wednesday's script will try to replicate as much as possible the rest of this month, usually happy to play without the theatrics associated with a deep October run.

“The ultimate goal would be to be able to take a few days off and watch a World Series and go home,” Treinen said. “So yeah, win tomorrow, focus on that, take care of business and see what happens next.”