Shohei Ohtani was in a slump. A moonshot home run took care of that.

NEW YORK - When it comes to Shohei Ohtani, who hit a ball to the moon in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-0 win over the New York Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night, the voice of reason was a former MVP in a bright orange sweatshirt that read “I’d rather be on Mars.”

The voice belonged to Mookie Betts, an all-time Dodgers star who this year found himself relegated to Ohtani’s orbit much like the rest, and he was annoyed that anyone was wondering when his otherworldly teammate would emerge from a much-discussed playoff slump.

“I don’t know why people - I have no idea why people are talking about Shohei. He’s the best player on the field. Every day,” said Betts, who at times in his career has been able to make a credible claim to that designation. “There’s no need to worry about him. ‘Oh, he hasn’t gotten a hit with no one on? Who cares? He’s Shohei Ohtani.’”

Until Ohtani launched his three-run shot so deep into right field in the eighth inning Wednesday, that “hasn’t gotten a hit with no one on” thing had indeed become the latest plotline of the playoff rookie’s story. By the time he did that, the Dodgers were well on their way to a 2-1 NLCS lead over the Mets. Los Angeles has outscored New York 20-7 in three games, and it has shut the Mets out twice.

But Ohtani was largely absent from the proceedings, with a playoff batting average that stands at .226 and includes a particularly mind-boggling statistic: The Dodgers’ leadoff man is 7 for 9 when he’s batted with runners on and 0 for 22 with the bases clear.

The slump was noticeable enough that Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts did not try to cover for his star this week, acknowledging that Ohtani had gotten uncharacteristically aggressive after striking out against his idol, San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish, in the division series.

“I do think that he can hit anyone, as we all know,” Roberts said. “But he’s still got to be kind of stubborn in his zone. And I do feel that [Wednesday] he’s got to get back to the big part of the field. If he can do that, it should bode well for all of us.”

Ohtani, for his part, said Tuesday he was worried less about which pitches he was trying to hit and more how he was hitting them.

“Rather than my strike zone management,” Ohtani said through an interpreter, “I’m more concerned when I swing at pitches, whether that’s a foul or a pop fly.”

Ohtani started Wednesday’s game by hitting Luis Severino’s first pitch up the first base line, just fair, an easy out. It was not the kind of swing that normally sets a tone.

But as it turned out, an inning later, soft groundballs proved to be a productive Dodgers strategy. After Max Muncy walked, Teoscar Hernández chopped a swinging bunt in front of home plate that tempted Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez into an ill-advised attempt to throw out the lead runner, who was safe at second.

A batter later, Gavin Lux chopped a ball back to Severino. The veteran right-hander bobbled it, which meant he could not get the lead runner and had to settle for one out at first. Will Smith followed by chopping a ball to the third base side of Severino. It bounced into no man’s land and scored a run. The first ball to leave the infield that inning was Tommy Edman’s sacrifice fly, which pushed a statistically unearned Dodgers lead to two.

Edman, who hit eighth Wednesday, is more of a contact-type hitter than the rest of the Dodgers’ powerful lineup, a bat control player the likes of which this lineup has not recently employed. He is 5 for 11 with five RBI in the NLCS. The man who hit behind him, playoff savant Kiké Hernández, homered in the sixth inning to increase the Dodgers’ lead to 4-0.

“My first two at-bats I was pretty upset I wasn’t able to get on for [Ohtani]. And third at-bat, the whole mentality was to try to get on base,” Hernández said. “… He hung a [splitter], and I was able to get enough on it.”

So the bases were clear for Ohtani, who endured one of the more painful strikeouts of his season. It became clear why he prioritizes hitting the ball fair over strike zone management as he fouled two pitches off his leg and spent several seconds grimacing as he limped around home plate. Then he swung and missed at an uncompetitive strike three.

“Every time he steps in the box, everybody expects something good to happen,” Betts said. “I think that’s the problem. He’s done it so many times that you expect it. He’s a human for 20 at-bats, but it’s Shohei.”

And in the eighth, it was Shohei with two runners on base, facing a right-handed pitcher with a more familiar delivery than some of the specialists he has seen in recent days. He took the same furious, spinning swing. This time, he hit the ball so high and far down the right field line that it did not pass either side of the foul pole. It simply flew over it, ruled fair after replay.

“The attitude from Shohei, it doesn’t matter if he does not hit that homer or he hits two or three homers, he’s going to give the same emotions from him,” Teoscar Hernández said. “But it’s a breather for him and for the team.”

A few batters later to start the ninth, Max Muncy tied the Dodgers record for postseason home runs with the 13th of his playoff career, equaling Corey Seager and Justin Turner. His and Ohtani’s blasts meant the Dodgers did not have to use all of their top relievers late, sparing them the ninth in a blowout. And it means Los Angeles is two wins from the World Series, despite that lousy leadoff man who cannot hit with no one on.