Ohtani's epic 2-way show sparks Dodgers' NLCS sweep of Brewers
LOS ANGELES -- Shohei Ohtani has propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a two-way performance for the ages.
Ohtani hit three mammoth home runs and pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning, and the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the National League Championship Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 on Friday night.
The Dodgers will have a chance to be baseball's first repeat World Series champions in a quarter-century after this mind-blowing night for the three-time MVP Ohtani, who emphatically ended a quiet postseason by his lofty standards. Ohtani was named the NLCS MVP essentially on the strength of this one unforgettable game.
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Ohtani (2-0) also thoroughly dominated the Brewers in his second career postseason mound start, fanning 10 for his first double-digit strikeout game in a Dodgers uniform.
The numbers tell the story. Ohtani is the first player in MLB history to hit two-plus homers as a pitcher in a postseason game, according to ESPN Research. He is also the first MLB player ever with more homers hit (3) than hits allowed (2) in a postseason pitching start and the first player to hit a leadoff homer as a pitcher (regular season or postseason).
"Sometimes you've got to check yourself and touch him to make sure he's not just made of steel. Absolutely incredible. Biggest stage, and he goes out and does something like that. It'll probably be remembered as the Shohei Ohtani game. ...the inevitable kind of happened today -- Shohei. Oh my God. I'm still speechless."--Freddie Freeman, last season's World Series MVP.
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Baseball is the oldest professional sport in the U.S. It is also a game meant for statistics. So those firsts mean something that firsts don't in other sports.