NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani perked up when he heard his name.

“I told him,” Dodgers backup catcher Austin Barnes said after Ohtani’s three-run moonshot iced an 8-0 victory over the Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, “hit the ball over the fence.”

“Not bad advice,” Ohtani said.

Barnes clapped his hands three times. “Like, ‘Today, man, over the fence.’”

Ohtani beamed as he dressed to leave the ballpark, two victories away from the World Series.

“Good coaching,” Ohtani said.

The game is not that easy for Ohtani. But sometimes he can make it look so, as he did in the eighth inning Wednesday, hitting a ball that looked capable of landing in Flushing Bay if the second deck of Citi Field had not gotten in the way.

The home run ushered a procession of Mets fans to the exits, extended Ohtani’s bizarre postseason splits and eased the tension for manager Dave Roberts. The Dodgers arrived in Queens this week hoping to sneak through three consecutive games while using starting pitchers unable to last deep into games. With one swing, Ohtani boosted the lead and protected the bullpen. Roberts did not have to use high-leverage relievers Evan Phillips and Daniel Hudson. With Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting in Game 4, the team should have Phillips and Hudson plus Blake Treinen and Michael Kopech, who combined for two scoreless innings Wednesday, lined up.

“Those things matter,” Roberts said.

This is Ohtani’s first time in the postseason. He has competed under a microscope for much of his professional career, but never before have American audiences studied his at-bats at such a granular level. He contributed two hits in a Game 1 victory and walked twice in a Game 2 defeat. Yet he had made the game seem so simple in the season’s final months — whenever he saw a pitch, he hit it with great force — that every out he made appeared a portent of a lengthy slump.

Roberts has suggested that Ohtani was swinging too often at pitches outside the strike zone. He looked lost against Mets starter Sean Mananea in Game 2. Tuesday, before the Dodgers worked out at Citi Field, Ohtani fended off questions about his confidence and approach. He did not believe he was wilting beneath the postseason glare. He did not consider himself in the midst of a dreadful stretch.

“I do feel OK at the plate,” Ohtani said through his interpreter, Will Ireton. “I do feel like I (can) recall back to the times when I (felt) good and perhaps incorporate that into it.”

Part of the concern stemmed from an odd disparity in his splits. Ohtani has not recorded a hit in 22 at-bats with no one on base, yet he has seven hits in nine at-bats with runners aboard. The difference might matter less for most sluggers, but Ohtani leads off the Dodgers lineup. He used his legs to steal 59 bases during the regular season. He has stolen none in October.

Ohtani insisted Tuesday that this brief lull in his production would not alter his intentions as a hitter. “Regardless of however they are pitching to me, my plan is to stay with the same approach as much as possible and not really be too focused on how they attack me,” he said.

Ohtani made good on that promise in Game 3. He grounded out on the first pitch he saw, a 95 mph fastball from Mets starter Luis Severino. Two innings later, with Severino unable to find the zone, Ohtani took a walk. In the sixth, after Kiké Hernández’s two-run homer, Ohtani flailed as Mets reliever Reed Garrett’s 0-2 cutter dove toward his cleats.

All those at-bats occurred with the bases empty. Ohtani’s fourth did not. He followed Will Smith’s walk and a two-out single by Hernández. Mets reliever Tylor Megill tried to sneak an 0-1 cutter for an inside strike. Ohtani waffled the ball into right field. A collective gasp overtook the 43,883 fans packed inside the ballpark. The statistics do not do the homer justice: 115.9 mph off the bat, at an estimated distance of 397 feet. The ball hooked near the pole, close enough to merit a replay review.

“I don’t know how you would even overturn that,” said third baseman Max Muncy, who reached base in five plate appearances and added a solo shot in the ninth. “The ball was 100 feet over the foul pole. The foul pole’s not tall enough for that one.”

The home run changed the calculus for Robert’s endgame. He had used Treinen, one of his relief aces, to face the bottom of the Mets lineup in the seventh. As the eighth inning began, with the Dodgers up four, Hudson loosened up in the bullpen. If the score remained the same, Treinen would return for the eighth. If the Dodgers added a run, Hudson would pitch. Adding three runs? That allowed Roberts to send rookie Ben Casparius for the final two innings. “The more the runs we score, that makes it easier,” Treinen said.

The bullpen figures to be close to full strength for Game 4. The Dodgers are trying to navigate this series without Mets hitters Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso receiving repeated looks at the same relievers. Thus far, Roberts has succeeded. “The more we can hide guys, keep them from going in, it’s probably ideal,” Hudson said.

Ohtani left the ballpark without speaking to reporters. He did not need to say much. “It was important,” Roberts said, “for Shohei to build some confidence.” His team holds the high ground. His swing silenced a ballpark and saved his bullpen. It also offered a reminder. Even amid this relative downturn in his hitting, Ohtani can inspire awe. That, of course, is not shocking.

(Top photo of Shohei Ohtani: Elsa / Getty Images)

Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1, has hired Wim Fissette as her new head coach.

Fissette, 44, is hugely experienced and is one of the most successful and highly regarded coaches on the WTA Tour. The Belgian has coached former world No. 1 players Naomi Osaka, Kim Clijsters and Angelique Kerber to six Grand Slam titles between them. He has also worked with other former world No. 1s like Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka, taking both to Grand Slam finals.

When Swiatek parted with her long-term coach Tomasz Wiktorowski two weeks ago, The Athletic reported that well-placed sources within the sport were tipping Fissette to be his replacement. Swiatek hinted at this when she said in her statement announcing the split with Wiktorowski that she was in talks with foreign coaches.

Fissette was available after splitting with Osaka, who recently hired Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ former coach, as his replacement.

It’s a hugely significant appointment, bringing together the world’s best player with one of the sport’s most well-respected coaches. It’s also an indication of how much Swiatek felt she needed to shake things up after a disappointing second half of the season that’s seen her results and performances dip since winning a fourth French Open, and fifth Grand Slam title, at Roland Garros in June.

Swiatek’s camp confirmed on Thursday that the pair are already working together ahead of the WTA Finals, along with the Pole’s physiotherapist and fitness coach Maciej Ryszczuk, psychologist Daria Abramowicz and hitting partner Tomasz Moczek.

“As you know, I’m preparing for the WTA Finals but my perspective is, as always, long-term, not short-term,” Swiatek said on social media and in a statement sent to The Athletic Thursday October 17.

“I said many times that my career is a marathon for me, not a sprint and I’m working, operating and making decisions with this approach.

“It’s always crucial to try and get to know each other better but we’re off to a good start and I can’t wait to compete soon,” she added.

Fissette added that he was excited to join Swiatek’s group after following her development as a player, as well as coaching his previous charges to face her on court. Fissette was Osaka’s coach during her memorable French Open match against Swiatek last year, in which Osaka held match point and nearly upset the reigning champion.

“She’s been a role model to many players with the intensity and focus she brings to work, so I’m eager to partner as we both continue to build our best selves and chase more dreams. Jazda, Iga!” Fissette said.

Swiatek has spoken a few times of physical and mental exhaustion, and has not played since the U.S. Open due in part to “personal matters”. In that time she has seen her lead as the world No. 1 cut to just 69 points by Aryna Sabalenka, meaning Swiatek will need to outperform her rival at the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia at the start of November to finish the year as the world No 1.

The WTA Finals, which comprises the top-ranked seven players from 2024, plus Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, starts in Riyadh on Saturday November 2.

(Antonio Borga / Anadolu via Getty Images)

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made headlines Tuesday morning when he became angry during one of his weekly radio interviews, getting defensive when asked about the franchise’s lack of offseason moves to improve the roster.

Jones seemed to take exception with the line of questioning because he was speaking on the team’s flagship radio station, 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Jones conducts interviews with the station on Tuesday and Friday mornings. He also takes part in a pregame interview with the station.

While attending NFL meetings Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta, Jones explained in an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Dianna Russini why he reacted the way he did.

“I don’t know that I would go as far as (calling) the volume connotation as yelling,” Jones said. “OK? But the facts are that if I’m going to be grilled by the tribunal, I don’t need it to be by the guys I’m paying. I can take it from fans and take it from other people. I take a lot of pride in how fair and how much I try to work with the media, we’re brothers and sisters. But I was a little frustrated there today.

“We got in there as of accounting for decisions made in the offseason. OK? They might as well gone back to decisions made in 2010. My point is, and that’s from my perspective, there’s no question, I’m sure that they would have liked to have grilled me like the fans are thinking, what are you going to do about that? I get it. I get all of that. And really will go along with it.”

Jones went on to explain how his frustration stemmed from the individuals asking the questions, not necessarily the topic itself.

“The wrong ones were doing the questioning. Now, if those had been real fans sitting there or if there had been people that knew what they were talking about, football people, I might have had a different answer.”

Jones also made it clear that he has no plans of making significant changes to his coaching staff. The majority of Dallas’ coaches are on either one-year deals or are in the final year of their contracts. Coach Mike McCarthy is in the final year of his five-year deal.

The Cowboys are coming off a 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at AT&T Stadium, the worst home loss in Jones’ 35 years as owner and general manager.

“Of course,” Jones said when asked about sticking with McCarthy and his coordinators. “Not even a distant thought about that. But the game is repetition. We clearly know what we did wrong. You can see that. The same guys that did it wrong have done it right many times over these past few months. So I know they can go out there and get it right.

“The point is, what do you do? What you do is go out there and do your techniques or do your effort, and do all of those things and you do it righter, and you’ll be in games that don’t get out of hand and you can win.”

Jones said he still believes in the team, which enters its bye week at 3-3.

“Of course we do,” he said. “We have great personnel. I’m proud of our personnel.”

Will Dallas try to improve the roster by making any moves before the trade deadline?

“Not thinking that,” Jones said.

Required Reading

(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)