The Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani manifested a historic performance in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, leading Los Angeles to a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and affirming a second consecutive trip to the World Series.
Ohtani, moonlighting as both starting pitcher and designated hitter, blew away Milwaukee with 10 strikeouts in six scoreless innings and three homers. Until tonight, no player in MLB history had hit three home runs in a single game while striking out at least once, let alone 10. Ohtani became the first to achieve the feat.
The two-way sensation opened the game on the mound with a scoreless top of the first, striking out three batters after walking the leadoff hitter. He quickly transitioned to the plate and launched a leadoff home run off Brewers starter Jose Quintana, traveling 446 feet at 116.5 mph. This made him the first pitcher in Major League history to hit a leadoff home run in either the regular season or postseason and was the first postseason home run by a Dodgers pitcher. Remarkably, Ohtani had hit a leadoff home run in the same scenario, in Game 4 off Quintana, exactly one year prior, making him just the fourth player to homer off the same pitcher on the same calendar day in multiple postseasons.
In the fourth inning, Ohtani added to his own lead with a 469-foot blast off Chad Patrick, clearing the roof of the Right Field Pavilion. With a 116.9 mph exit velocity, he became the only player since Statcast tracking began in 2015 to hit multiple home runs with at least 116 mph exit velocity in the same game. Later, after leaving the mound in the seventh with runners on base, Ohtani hit his third home run of the night, a 427-foot shot at 113.6 mph, becoming just the 12th player in MLB history to hit three homers in a postseason game, and the first pitcher ever to hit multiple home runs in a playoff contest.
On the pitching side, the Japanese phenom struck out 10 batters while allowing only two hits and three walks over six-plus scoreless innings. He became one of only four Los Angeles pitchers to record at least 10 strikeouts in a scoreless postseason start of six innings or more, joining Sandy Koufax, Clayton Kershaw, and Blake Snell. Ohtani also joined Don Newcombe as the only Dodgers pitchers to hit two home runs while striking out at least eight batters in the same game, and he is the only player to accomplish both feats in the postseason.
Ohtani’s performance also ended a quiet stretch at the plate. He had been just 3-for-29 (.103) since the start of the NLDS and had not homered since a two-homer game in the Wild Card Series on September 30. With his third career postseason leadoff home run, he tied Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins for the second-most in MLB history, trailing only Kyle Schwarber.
The Los Angeles sweep of the Brewers proclaimed their fifth NL pennant since 2017, as their pitching allowed a mere four runs over four games, equaling the 1963 World Series record for fewest runs surrendered in a series of at least four games. Heading into Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, October 24, the Dodgers will have to wait to find out the winner of the American League Championship Series, with the Seattle Mariners holding a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays.
