LOS ANGELES — It was a night that will live forever in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
There was Sandy Koufax’s perfect game.
There was the Kirk Gibson home run.
And on Thursday night, it was The Shohei Ohtani Game, one of the best postseason performances in baseball history.
Ohtani, the greatest show on Earth – and perhaps the best to ever put on a uniform – hit three home runs, pitched six electrifying innings with 10 strikeouts.
He became the 12th player in history to hit three homers in a postseason game and will go down in history as the first pitcher with multiple home runs in a postseason game.
Ohtani, if you can somehow believe it, hit more home runs this night than hits allowed (two) in a performance in front of a sellout crowd of 52,883 that had Dodger Stadium literally shaking.
The 31-year-old’s Game 4 exploits earned him the NLCS Most Valuable Player award.
And, oh yeah, the Dodgers are going back to the World Series, too.
The Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1, in the National League Championship Series, their first sweep in a best-of-seven series since the 1963 World Series, but all anyone could talk about was Ohtani and those 1,342 feet worth of homers.
“I feel like Ohtani is a superhero,” Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said.
Ohtani, who took the mound at 5:39 local time, had the sellout crowd buzzing from the jump after walking leadoff hitter Brice Turang, and promptly striking out Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich and William Contreras.
He stepped to the plate at 5:48 local time, and crushed Brewers starter Jose Quintana’s slurve, sending it 446 feet high to the right-field pavilion.
Oh, he was just getting started.
While he continued to mow down the Brewers, with Chourio producing the only hit off him on a ground-rule double the first six innings, Ohtani stepped to the plate at 6:57 p.m. with two outs in the fourth. Facing right-handed reliever Chad Patrick, he watched a called first strike, and then three consecutive balls on slurves.
Patrick tried to fool him by throwing an 89-mph cutter.
Ohtani sent it to orbit, landing almost in Pasadena.
Ohtani dropped his bat, watched the ball soar through the night, clearing the right-field pavilion.
Ohtani was in complete command on the mound, giving up just the double until he began to tire in the seventh inning. He walked Yelich to open the seventh, and Contreras followed with a single, and at 100 pitches, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came out of the dugout to pull him.
The crowd immediately rose to its feet, and as the Dodgers infield encircled Ohtani on the mound, he handed the ball to Roberts and the roar could be heard to Malibu.
But, Ohtani only left the game as a pitcher.
He came right back in the bottom of the seventh inning as a hitter, courtesy of the Ohtani Rule.
Brewers closer Trevor Megill got ahead of Ohtani, and on a 1-and-2 count, tried to throw a 98.9-mph fastball past him.
And he became Ohtani’s third victim.
Ohtani crushed the fastball 427 feet over the center field fence, with the crowd screaming in disbelief.
The Brewers could only sit back and watch in awe, with Ohtani and the Dodgers beating the Brewers in every phase of the game.
The Brewers, who led the National League in batting average, produced just 14 hits the entire series, batting .113. They scored one run in Game 1, one run in Game 2, one run in Game 3 and one in Game 4.
The Dodgers, who lost all six games in the regular season against the Brewers, completely outmanned them when it counted, leading in 35 of the 36 innings.
Los Angeles, which didn’t get a first-round bye, will now have a week off now before opening the World Series on Oct. 24 against the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays.
They Dodgers will be well-rested. And that deep slump Ohtani (.103 in the NLDS and NLCS) was in before Game 4? Well, that’s over, too.
“I think this is his opportunity to make his mark on this series,’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game.
Oh, did he ever.
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
Brewers threaten in eighth but only get a run
Blake Treinen came on to pitch the eighth for the Dodgers with a four-run lead. He surrendered a leadoff double to Caleb Durbin and walked Andruw Monasterio but struck out Isaac Collins for the first out. Lefty Anthony Banda came in with runners on first and third and got Brice Turang to ground out, bringing home the Brewers’ first run. Banda gave up a single to Jackson Chourio but got Christian Yelich to ground out and end the inning with a 5-1 lead.
Shohei Ohtani hits third(!) home run of the night
After his night ended on the mound in the top of the seventh, Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning and crushed his third home run of the night, this one to center field against Brewers All-Star Trevor Megill.
The Dodgers now lead 5-0 heading into the eighth inning.
Shohei Ohtani done on the mound, Dodgers work out of jam
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts let Shohei Ohtani go back out for the seventh inning on 87 pitches. Ohtani walked Christian Yelich to lead off and then gave up a single to William Contreras, ending his night to a rapturous ovation.
Alex Vesia came in with nobody out and two on and got Andrew Vaughn to pop out for the first out, then Sal Frelick grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Ohtani’s final line: 6+ innings, 2 hits, 0 ER, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts
Middle of the 6th: Dodgers 4, Brewers 0
Shohei Ohtani is now through six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, giving up just one hit – in addition to his two home runs. Ohtani is at 87 pitches but Dave Roberts may yet choose to push him for another inning.
An absolutely unreal postseason performance from the two-way superstar who is about to win his fourth MVP award.
Shohei Ohtani hits mammoth home run
Ohtani finally gave up a hit on the mound in the fourth but in the bottom of the frame he unloaded on a ball, crushing his second homer of the night 469 yards to right-center.
Brewers run themselves out of inning
The Brewers are struggling to get anything going on offense through the first three innings of play. Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers’ defense made quick work of the Brewers in the top of the third.
After Ohtani walked Blake Perkins to start the inning, he managed to strike out Joey Ortiz to record the first out. The Dodgers then produced a double play after Brice Turang lined out, as Kiké Hernandez caught the ball in left field and threw a rocket while still on the move to Freddie Freeman at first base to record the third out on Perkins.
Dodgers-Brewers score update
Shohei Ohtani has pitched three no-hit innings against the Brewers. He’s struck out four so far.
Blake Perkins and Brice Turang are the only two players to reach base for Milwaukee after they were walked … and Perkins ran the Brewers out of the top of the third when he was doubled off.
Shohei Ohtani home run starts Dodgers’ 3-run first
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani provided the early spark for the Dodgers, following up a scoreless inning on the mound with a solo home run in the bottom of the first to give the LA a 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers offense has turned that early momentum into a 3-0 lead after Mookie Betts and Will Smith scored runs in the inning.
Dodgers view Game 4 as ‘must-win’
LOS ANGELES — Enrique Hernandez and the Dodgers continue to take a “must-win” approach as the team prepares for the opportunity to close out the NLCS on Friday.
“I think we’re going into today just like any other day in October, thinking it’s a must-win game because that’s how we feel about it,” Hernandez told reporters during pregame media availability.
Hernandez has spent nine seasons with the Dodgers, including their two most recent World Series victories.
“I feel like we’ve gone through a lot together as a group,” he said. “There are people who were here in 2020. There’s people who were here last year. And there are new guys that we bought in and are all in with the mentality and the goal, the final goal, which is to win a World Series.”
The Boston Red Sox became the first and only team in MLB history to rally back from a 3-0 series deficit to win a best-of-seven series. The Red Sox beat the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.
The Brewers will need a victory tonight against the Dodgers to start a potential rally.
— James H. Williams
Dodgers lineup today
Shohei Ohtani (L) P
Mookie Betts (R) SS
Will Smith (R) C
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Tommy Edman (S) 2B
Teoscar Hernández (R) RF
Max Muncy (L) 3B
Enrique Hernández (R) LF
Andy Pages (R) CF
Brewers lineup for NLCS Game 4
Brice Turang (L) 2B
Jackson Chourio (R) LF
Christian Yelich (L) DH
William Contreras (R) C
Jake Bauers (L) 1B
Sal Frelick (L) RF
Caleb Durbin (R) 3B
Blake Perkins (S) CF
Joey Ortiz (R) SS
Shohei Ohtani pitching Game 4 for Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani is struggling at the plate and will take the mound to start Game 4.
“I’m expecting nothing short of incredible,’ Dodgers infielder Muncy said. ‘I’m expecting him to pitch a great game and what he does offensively is just kind of icing on the cake at that point.’
Said Rojas: “Shohei’s one of those superheroes. I have no doubt with the talent that he has that he’s one swing away from doing something really special. He’ll have a lot of opportunities leading off for us, and pitching.’ — Bob Nightengale