Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani delivers ‘greatest’ postseason display
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Juan Beltran, Contributor
- October 18, 2025
Shohei Ohtani does it all to push Dodgers to World Series
LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani struck out the side Friday night, and then it only got worse for the Milwaukee Brewers. The Dodgers’ Japanese two-way superstar led off the bottom of the first with a home run, sparking the three-run rally that was more than enough to push the defending World Series champions back to the Fall Classic.
By the time Ohtani was done in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, the Dodger Stadium crowd had been treated to arguably the greatest individual performance in Major League Baseball’s postseason history.
With three home runs at the plate and six scoreless innings of two-hit ball with 10 strikeouts from the mound, Ohtani easily cruised to the NLCS MVP award.
“That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There’s been a lot of postseason games. And there’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet.
“What he did on the mound, what he did at the bat, he created a lot of memories for a lot of people. So for us to have a game-clinching — to do it in a game-clinching game at home, wins the NLCS MVP, pretty special. I’m just happy to be able to go along for the ride.”
Dodgers 5, Brewers 1.
Now the Dodgers await the winner of the best-of-seven ALCS between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners lead that best-of-seven series, three games to two, as they head back to Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
Lucky 13
Ohtani delivered the 13th three-home run postseason game in MLB history. It was the first since Chris Taylor hit three homers in Game 5 of the 2021 NLCS for the Dodgers against the Atlanta Braves.
Ohtani crushed his leadoff home run in the first off Jose Quintana an estimated 446 feet. Then in the fourth he hit a monstrous 469-foot blast off Chad Patrick. He capped his trifecta with a 427-foot shot off Trevor Megill in the seventh.
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“As I stated before, there were … times during the postseason where (Teoscar Hernandez) and Mookie picked me up,” Ohtani said. “And this time around it was my turn to be able to perform. And I think just looking back over the course of the entire postseason, I haven’t performed to the expectation, but I think today we saw what the left-handed hitters could do.”
Ohtani single-handedly outscored Milwaukee, which had the best record in baseball this season. The Brewers were 6-0 in the regular season against the Dodgers, but they sputtered offensively in the NLCS.
The Brewers combined for only four runs in the NLCS. They scored only one run in each game. Dodgers starters Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani combined for a miniscule 0.63 ERA in the NLCS.
‘Proud’ Pat Murphy
“We were part of tonight an iconic, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I don’t think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers.
“I’m really proud of our team. I admire our team. Enough has been said, the narrative has been said many times. But it came to an end tonight to a team that was not only talented, (but) played great.”
Ohtani became the 12th man with a three-home run game in MLB postseason history. He joins a group that includes Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, George Brett and Adrian Beltre. Future Hall of Famers Albert Pujols and Jose Altuve are also among the small fraternity of players with three-home run games in the postseason.
Ruth, Jackson and Pujols accomplished their three-home run feats in the World Series. Ruth actually did it twice. The Bambino hit three homers in Game 4 of the 1926 Fall Classic. He had three more in Game 4 of the 1928 World Series.
Dodgers utility man Kike Hernandez is also part of that exclusive club. He hit three homers in Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS. Kike Hernandez and Ohtani, though, know there’s a bigger goal ahead.
“I’ve been fortunate enough (to where) this is going to be my fifth (World Series),” Kike Hernandez said. “I was on the wrong end of two. And when you’re on the wrong end of these Series, especially when you get to the end, it’s not a good feeling.
“So I remember what it felt like when we got there and then we lost. So after losing two you get to the point where you’re like, ‘All right, I’m not necessarily complacent or happy yet.’”
Featured art courtesy of the Dodgers.
Juan Beltran
Contributor
Juan Beltran, who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador at 5 years old, is an experienced broadcast journalist
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