Shohei Ohtani turned Dodger Stadium into his personal highlight reel Friday night, pitching six scoreless innings, striking out ten, and blasting three home runs to lead Los Angeles to a 5–1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, clinching another trip to the World Series.
In one electrifying evening, Ohtani became the first pitcher in Major League history, postseason or regular season, to hit a leadoff home run. He followed it with two more jaw-dropping blasts, traveling 469 and 427 feet, completing what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called “probably the greatest postseason performance of all time.”
The two-way superstar struck out the side in the top of the first inning, then ignited the sold-out crowd moments later with his first homer. It was a 446-foot rocket into the right-field pavilion. By the fourth inning, he was back at it, fanning two Brewers before smashing another towering shot over the roof of the same pavilion. And after leaving the mound in the seventh, he capped his night with one final blast over center field — his third of the game and a roar that echoed through the stadium.
Ohtani’s dominance sealed a four-game sweep and sent the defending champions to their fifth World Series in nine years — their 23rd in franchise history. “It was really fun on both sides of the ball today,” Ohtani said humbly through his interpreter after being named NLCS MVP. “As a representative of the team, I’m taking this trophy, and let’s get four more wins.”
For a player who entered the night batting just .158 in the postseason, the turnaround was emphatic. Teammates said his fiery pregame batting practice, where he reportedly launched a ball off the right-field roof, was a warning sign of what was coming. “I was expecting nothing short of incredible,” said Max Muncy. “He surpassed that. Unbelievable.”
Now, the Dodgers await either the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays when the World Series begins on October 24. But after Ohtani’s superhuman performance, one question remains for the rest of baseball: how do you stop him?
All together now… Ohhhhhhtani!
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