Ohtani with his third homer of the night

The two-way superstar delivers one of baseball’s greatest playoff performances as LA sweeps Milwaukee in the NLCS

Shohei Ohtani delivered a postseason performance for the ages, launching three towering home runs and striking out 10 batters as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 to complete a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series. The victory sends the Dodgers back to the World Series for the second consecutive year and gives Ohtani his first NLCS MVP award in spectacular fashion.​

Under the bright lights of Dodger Stadium, the Japanese phenom reminded everyone why he is widely regarded as the greatest talent in modern baseball. In just one night, he hit baseball’s first-ever leadoff homer by a pitcher in postseason history, then followed up with two more towering blasts, including a 469-foot rocket over the right-field pavilion roof, while commanding six-plus shutout innings from the mound.​

“That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “There’s been a lot of playoff baseball, and there’s a reason he’s the best player on the planet”.​

Ohtani’s three homers traveled a combined 1,342 feet, a feat achieved by only 11 other players in playoff history. His first-inning shot came after he struck out three Brewers, two on 100-mph fastballs, in his trademark two-way opening act. By the time he exited to a roaring standing ovation in the seventh inning, Ohtani had given up only two hits, walked three, and recorded 19 swinging strikes.​

“I just told our staff yesterday I wanted batting practice on the field,” Ohtani said through his interpreter after the game. “I felt something different, and I knew I needed to perform tonight. It was my turn”.​

The sellout crowd of more than 52,000 erupted each time Ohtani stepped to the plate. His second homer, a 469-foot moonshot off Chad Patrick, was among the longest of his career, disappearing beyond the Dodger Stadium pavilion and leaving Milwaukee’s bench stunned. Minutes later, Ohtani’s third blast, a seventh-inning solo shot off Trevor Megill, sealed both the win and his place in postseason lore.​

Teammate Freddie Freeman, the 2024 World Series MVP, could hardly contain his awe: “Sometimes you’ve got to tap him to check he’s real. He punched out 10 and hit three homers in a clinching game, that’s stuff from another planet,” Freeman said.​

The Dodgers’ rotation, led by Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell, was virtually untouchable throughout the NLCS, combining for a 0.63 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 28⅔ innings. Their dominance quieted Milwaukee’s league-best offense, which mustered just three runs across four games.​

Manager Pat Murphy of the Brewers conceded his team had just witnessed history. “We were part of something iconic, maybe the best individual performance ever in a playoff game,” he said. “A guy hits three homers and strikes out 10. There’s nothing to say but wow”.​

The win marked the Dodgers’ fifth trip to the World Series in nine seasons and their first back-to-back pennants since Philadelphia in 2009. With the team chasing baseball’s first repeat championship since the 2000 New York Yankees, Los Angeles will have home-field advantage against either the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays when the Fall Classic begins next week.​

As fireworks lit up the Los Angeles night, Ohtani, bat in one hand, glove in the other, raised his cap to a roaring crowd chanting his name. “We just need four more,” Roberts told fans during the on-field celebration. “If we keep playing like this, maybe Shohei will find a way to pitch and hit in all four games”.​

For one unforgettable October evening, he did it all, dominating on the mound, rewriting history at the plate, and powering the Dodgers back to baseball’s biggest stage.

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