Dodgers clinching World Series berth comes with greatest Shohei Ohtani gift of all

After another MVP-caliber season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani was struggling to carry that success over to the postseason. Entering Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, the two-way phenom was hitting under .200 through the first three rounds of the playoffs.

Ohtani had just two hits through the first three games against Milwaukee – a far cry from his elite performance during the regular season. But that all changed Friday.

Not only did Ohtani dominate on the mound in Game 4, tossing six shutout innings against the Brewers; he also went 3-for-3 at the plate with three solo homers and a walk to help the Dodgers secure a 5-1 win over Milwaukee and punch their ticket to the World Series for a second consecutive year.

Shohei Ohtani's bat comes alive with three-homer night as Dodgers win NLCS

The Brewers made the fatal mistake of starting Jose Quintana on the mound in Game 4 against the Dodgers, which seemed to awaken something in Ohtani.

Exactly one year earlier, on Oct. 17, 2024, Ohtani cranked a solo homer off of Quintana – then a member of the New York Mets – in Game 4 of the NLCS. On Friday, he hit another leadoff dinger off of the southpaw as a member of the Brewers.

As a pitcher, Ohtani gave up two hits and three walks while striking out 10 through six innings of work. His night on the mound came to an end in the seventh, when he gave up a walk to Christian Yelich and a single to William Contreras without recording an out.

Alex Vesia came in to pitch in relief of Ohtani, inheriting the pair of base runners, but successfully got out of the inning when Andrew Vaughn popped out to shortstop Mookie Betts and Sal Frelick grounded into a double play to keep the shutout intact.

As if his dominant showing on the mound wasn't enough, Ohtani kept the fireworks going at the plate even after his pitching performance was done. After hitting a solo homer in the first inning off of Quintana and adding another in the fourth inning off of Chad Patrick, Ohtani launched his third homer of the night in the bottom of the seventh off of Trevor Megill. The blasts traveled 446 feet, 469 feet and 427 feet, respectively.

The Dodgers carried a 5-0 shutout into the bottom of the eighth, when Brice Turang finally got the Brewers on the board by grounding into a force out that allowed Caleb Durbin to score. Anthony Banda and Roki Sasaki were able to keep Milwaukee at bay, allowing the Dodgers to hold onto the 5-1 final.

Los Angeles now awaits the winner of the ALCS in the World Series. The Seattle Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-2, in Friday's Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead.