Shohei Ohtani’s legendary three-homer, 10-strikeout sport sends Dodgers again to the World Sequence – NBC Los Angeles

The roar inside Dodger Stadium didn’t fade. It by no means may. Not after what that they had simply witnessed — one thing nobody had ever seen, and possibly by no means will once more. It was disbelief that turned to awe, awe that turned to pleasure, and pleasure that became pure pandemonium.

As a result of on this October night time in Chavez Ravine, underneath the brilliant lights and infinite California sky, Shohei Ohtani authored a masterpiece — one that may reside without end in baseball historical past.

For the remainder of time, they are going to name it, The Shohei Ohtani Sport.

Shohei Ohtani hit three homers and struck out ten, as he led the Los Angeles Dodgers previous the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1, in Sport 4 of the NLCS, in a legendary efficiency that despatched them again to the World Sequence.

For six innings, Ohtani was untouchable. His fastball sizzled at 99 mph, his splitter dropped prefer it was falling off a cliff, and the Milwaukee Brewers may do nothing however chase shadows. Ten strikeouts. Two hits. Six scoreless innings. A efficiency that alone would’ve made this night time legendary.

However that was solely half of it.

Within the backside of the primary, with the gang nonetheless buzzing from watching him strike out the facet within the prime half, Ohtani dug into the batter’s field — and unleashed a thunderclap. The ball soared 446 toes into the night time, midway to the moon, and landed deep within the right-center bleachers. The Dodgers led 1–0, and Ohtani had already finished one thing no pitcher had ever finished in postseason historical past: hit a leadoff residence run.

Dodger Stadium shook.

Los Angeles would plate two extra on an RBI single from Tommy Edman, his third of the collection, and a fielder’s alternative RBI for Teoscar Hernandez. 

Milwaukee by no means recovered. Ohtani carved by way of them like a person possessed, hanging out 5 of the following seven hitters he confronted. When he returned to the plate within the fourth inning, followers have been nonetheless buzzing from his first homer — after which he hit one other.

Solely this time, it didn’t simply go away the yard. It left the stadium.

A 469-foot moonshot, disappearing over the roof of the right-field pavilion and out into centerfield plaza. The third-longest residence run in Dodger Stadium historical past–and Ohtani now has two of them–safety guards and followers out within the plaza reportedly noticed the ball land in a bush and didn’t know what occurred.

“I’ve been coming right here for 40 years,” stated one longtime season-ticket holder, wiping tears from his eyes. “I’ve by no means seen something like that. By no means.”

By the seventh inning, with the Dodgers comfortably forward 4–0, Ohtani got here up once more. Followers stood earlier than the primary pitch. They chanted “MVP!” They sensed it. They felt it within the air, like the best way you are feeling a storm constructing.

And when the ball left his bat once more — that candy, acquainted sound — there was just one factor to do. Stand and watch.

Residence run quantity three.

The dugout went loopy. The stadium quaked. The scoreboard lit up prefer it had a pulse.

Ohtani circled the bases quietly, virtually humbly, his face calm beneath the fireworks bursting overhead.

Particular doesn’t even start to explain it.

When it was over, the Dodgers had gained 5–1 — sweeping the Brewers in 4 video games and punching their ticket to the World Sequence for the second straight 12 months. The pitching workers, virtually forgotten amidst Ohtani’s brilliance, allowed simply 4 runs in your entire collection.

However the night time belonged to at least one man.

The primary pitcher ever to hit a leadoff homer in postseason historical past.

The primary participant ever to hit three residence runs and strike out ten in the identical sport — postseason or common season.

The primary participant to make the unattainable appear bizarre.

Out on the sector, Ohtani embraced his teammates on the mound, as they obtained the Nationwide League pennant trophy. The group chanted his title — “Sho-hei, Sho-hei, Sho-hei” — lengthy after the ultimate out.

Contained in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, champagne corks popped, laughter crammed the air, and but someway, everybody knew what they’d simply seen wasn’t only a win. It was historical past.

The one sound left when it was over got here from the Dodgers’ dugout — from 26 grown males who, for one night time, have been all little boys once more, celebrating baseball’s rarest magic. Out past them, the town glowed, the hills shimmered, and the echoes of what Shohei Ohtani did tonight appeared to hold over the ravine like a halo.

As a result of sometime, when followers inform their youngsters in regards to the best baseball participant that ever performed the sport, they are going to speak about October 17, 2025 — the night time the unicorn turned a legend.

The night time baseball belonged to Shohei Ohtani.

Take a bow, Shohei.