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 tonight, 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.”

Cobb off Guardians’ ALCS roster >> Pitcher Alex Cobb was dropped from Cleveland’s AL Championship Series roster after he got hurt yet again in the opener, leaving the Guardians in search of a Game 5 starter against the New York Yankees.

Cobb left Monday’s 5-2 loss after 2 2/3 innings because of hip tightness and a back spasm. The 37-year-old former Giants right-hander is ineligible to pitch for the remainder of the postseason.

“He was diagnosed with a lower back strain,” manager Stephen Vogt said before Game 2. “This type of injury would be a full blown IL stint, and with the timing of the year, the chances of him pitching again were very, very, very slim.”

Cobb was replaced on the roster by Ben Lively, a 32-year-old right-hander who was Cleveland’s winningest pitcher this season at 13-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts.

Phillies sign manager Thomson to extension >> The Philadelphia Phillies signed manager Rob Thomson to a one-year contract extension through the 2026 season after he led the team to three straight trips to the playoffs.

The 61-year-old Thomson guided the Phillies to the 2022 World Series and the 2023 National League Championship Series and led them this season to their first NL East title since 2011. The Phillies were eliminated in four games by the New York Mets in the National League Division Series.

Thomson’s .575 winning percentage is the best for any manager in franchise history. His contract was set to expire after the 2025 season.