More online

CHICAGO — Andre Ethier put his teammates on notice before the first pitch of the playoffs: win the World Series or watch one of the best seasons in Dodgers history go down as a bust.

Then he put his bat where his mouth was.

In his first start of the postseason, the longesttenured Dodger drove a sinker from Chicago Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks to right field for a home run, stealing back the momentum early and tying the game. Los Angeles went on to a 6-1 The Cubs beat the Dodgers 3-2 in Game 4 of the NLCS on Wednesday night. Find details at Dispatch.com.

victory Tuesday night and took a 3-0 lead in the National League Championship Series.

Considering Ethier’s long and distinguished service with the organization, coupled with the fact that the 35-year-old spent most of the last two seasons recovering from injuries, it’s hard to say who that big at-bat pleased most.

“It’s been a battle to get back,” Ethier said. “For a team this successful to have so many options and go out there and be part of the nine, it’s a big honor that Doc (manager Dave Roberts) would trust me.”

Ethier’s leadership has manifested in different ways through the years, first in a starring role as a slugging outfielder highlighted by back-to-back All-Star selections in 2010-11 and later as an aging veteran ceding his starting spot to make room for rising young star Yasiel Puig.

Because of the Dodgers’ talent and depth, Ethier’s status as an everyday player has been an on-andoff proposition since 2015. But he’s retained a presence on the team out of proportion to his playing time for a variety of reasons: the grace he showed helping groom some of his replacements; arriving early at the ballpark to take photos and sign autographs for fans; and most especially, perhaps, for showing the same preparation and work ethic in rehabbing injuries the last two seasons that he did when he was at the top of his game.