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Ohtani struck out 10 and hit three home runs en route to a 5-1 victory and sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers
Pressure builds diamonds.
And with just one victory separating the Dodgers from back-to-back World Series appearances – and the team’s fifth since 2017 – Shohei Ohtani produced Los Angeles a gem.
Spearheaded by one of the most complete and dominant performances in MLB postseason history, the Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 Friday night at Dodger Stadium in game four of the NLCS.
The victory completed the sweep, extended the team’s win streak to five – while also taking nine of 10 postseason contests, and gave the Dodgers an opportunity to be back-to-back world champions.
Ohtani’s night started on the mound where he made the second start of the 2025 season. The three-time MLB Most Valuable Player came into game four having given up just three earned runs across six innings pitched while striking out nine batters in his previous outing against the Philadelphia Phillies.
And Ohtani wasted no time building on what has been a defensive masterclass, tossing six scoreless innings where he conceded just two hits and three walks while punching out 10 Brewer bats. His performance gave him a 2-0 postseason record for the 2025 campaign and possesses a 2.25 ERA across both contests.
But where the right handed pitcher and designated hitter really made his mark was at the plate.
The left handed batter reached base all four times and hit three home runs – in the first, fourth, and seventh innings respectfully. While all three long balls were solo shots, his offensive outing made him the first player in MLB history to punch out 10 batters and hit three home runs in a game in the postseason and regular campaign.
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And the firsts did not end there.
His performance also made him the first pitcher with at least 10 strikeouts and no runs allowed in a postseason pennant-clinching game. And he was also the first person with three or more home runs in a pennant-clinching affair since Dodger teammate Kike Hernandez did it in 2017.
“We all know about Shohei but until you play with him and see it, it’s just a different level,” said Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. “You have to do so much as a starting pitcher, the routine you have to do, he can do that and then hit every day while doing that. He doesn’t have a regular starting pitcher schedule, he pitches when we need him too, and he goes out there and does that.”
Ohtani’s record game was also his first offensive breakout performance of the 2025 postseason. Entering game four of the pennant series, Ohtani boasted just a .158 batting average, having almost three times as many strikeouts as hits.
“I’m still kind of speechless. The man just struck out 10 guys and hit three home runs in the same game,” said first baseman Freddie Freeman. “It’s just incredible. The inevitable happened. He was going to break out at some point. He’s just so locked in when he’s pitching, so I think the unicorn came out.”
Crucial to the Dodgers postseason run has been the performance from the relief staff, and the units dominance was continued Friday by the quartet that has regularly came in after the starter exits.
In game four, after Ohtani was relieved from the mound, the bullpen – composed of southpaws Anthony Banda and Alex Vesia and right handers Blake Treinen and Roki Sasaki – combined for the final three frames of game four where they conceded just one hit and one earned run.
Offensively, an explosive bottom of the first gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead that they would never relinquish for the remainder of the affair. Following Ohtani’s leadoff bomb, second baseman Tommy Edman sent home fellow middle infielder Mookie Betts for the second run of the ball game.
And power-hitting right fielder Teoscar Hernandez hit an RBI groundout to give the Los Angeles squad a 3-0 before the Brewers picked up their bats for a second time.
Ohtani then supplemented what was already a 3-0 lead with a pair of 400-plus foot bombs that gave the Dodgers a 5-0 lead. The Brewers earned one run back on an RBI fielders choice hit by second baseman Brice Turang.
However, the last ditch effort in the eighth was not enough to get the Brewers back into the affair, as they fell 5-1, completing the NLCS sweep.
“The boys pitched, and we had some timely hits. We kind of did it all,” Betts said. “For the first three games we all did and then in the last game Shohei did it by himself so it’s always good to have him take over a game.”
The Dodgers will face the winner of the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays who are facing off in game seven of the ALCS which is slated to commence Monday night at 5:10 p.m. A Fall Classic victory will make the Dodgers the first back-to-back World Series champions since the New York Yankees did it in 1999 and 2000.
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Connor Dullinger
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