Ohtani held the Milwaukee Brewers scoreless across six innings at Dodger Stadium. He allowed only two hits and struck out 10. At the plate, he launched three solo home runs that traveled a combined 1,342 feet.
The Dodgers won 5 to 1, completed a four-game sweep and secured their second straight National League pennant.
Months later, the performance earned Ohtani ESPYs for Best Single Game Performance and Best MLB Player. The trophies were deserved, but they were almost beside the point. He did not need an awards ceremony to validate Game 4. Everyone inside Dodger Stadium already knew they had watched something close to impossible.
Ohtani seized control in the first inning
Questions had followed Ohtani into the game. He had not been producing at his usual level, and some wondered whether returning to the mound had disrupted his rhythm at the plate.
Ohtani adjusted his preparation before Game 4. Instead of working only inside the batting cage, he took batting practice on the field and watched the complete flight of each ball.
Milwaukee immediately tested him on the mound.
Ohtani walked the first batter he faced, then struck out the next three. Two of those strikeouts came on fastballs above 100 mph. An inning that began with uncertain command ended with Brewers hitters unable to catch his best velocity.
A few minutes later, Ohtani exchanged his glove for a bat and led off the bottom of the first.
He drove a José Quintana pitch deep into the right-field seats. The ball traveled 446 feet and left his bat at 116.5 mph.
Ohtani had faced four hitters, struck out three of them and homered before another Dodgers player had taken a swing. The game was only one inning old, but the atmosphere inside the stadium had already changed.
“That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time. There’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Roberts delivered the verdict after watching Ohtani produce a game that left little room for measured analysis. The numbers were already making the argument for him.
The 469-foot blast shook dodger stadium
Ohtani settled into his outing after the opening walk. His cutter helped him find the strike zone, while his splitter became the pitch Milwaukee could not solve.
Brewers hitters swung at the splitter five times and missed every one. By the end of his outing, Ohtani had produced 19 swinging strikes and reached 10 strikeouts for the first time as a Dodger.
His second home run supplied the defining image of the night.
Facing Chad Patrick in the fourth inning, Ohtani attacked an 89-mph cutter and sent it 469 feet at 116.9 mph. The ball sailed over the right-field pavilion roof, reaching an area of Dodger Stadium that few hitters ever threaten.
The crowd needed a moment to process the distance. This was not simply another home run into the seats. Ohtani had struck the ball completely out of the stadium during a pennant-clinching game.
He had already struck out two Brewers in the top half of the inning. Minutes later, he produced one of the longest home runs in postseason history.
Since the days of Babe Ruth, the accepted rule has been simple. A player can dominate on the mound or punish pitching at the plate. Nobody is expected to do both at full force with a place in the World Series waiting.
Ohtani did.
Milwaukee recorded its first hit when Jackson Chourio opened the fourth with a ground-rule double. Ohtani stranded him with a groundout and two strikeouts.
No rally followed. Whenever the Brewers appeared ready to apply pressure, Ohtani removed it himself.
A third homer put the performance beyond comparison
Ohtani returned for the seventh inning with 10 strikeouts and a shutout intact. Milwaukee placed two runners aboard, prompting Roberts to call for Alex Vesia.
The entire stadium rose as Ohtani walked back to the Dodgers dugout. He had thrown 100 pitches, allowed two hits and delivered six scoreless innings.
Most postseason stars would have considered their work complete.
Ohtani still had another plate appearance.
In the bottom half, he faced Trevor Megill and drove a ball into the left-center bleachers. The 427-foot homer left his bat at 113.6 mph. Fans who had just saluted his pitching were suddenly standing again, watching him circle the bases for the third time.
Few people inside the sold-out stadium remained seated when the ball reached the bleachers. Milwaukee had spent the entire night trying to survive Ohtani on one side of the game, only to confront him again on the other.
The records arrived quickly.
Ohtani became the first player in major league history to hit three home runs and strike out 10 batters in the same game. He was also the first pitcher to hit a leadoff home run in any major league game. No pitcher had previously hit multiple home runs in a postseason contest.
Even without his pitching line, Ohtani had produced only the 13th three-homer game in postseason history. Without the home runs, six scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts would have been enough to define a pennant-clinching start.
Ohtani delivered both in the same game.
One game changed the story of his october
Ohtani entered Game 4 batting 3-for-29 across his previous seven postseason games. His quieter production had become one of the main talking points surrounding the Dodgers.
By the end of the night, those concerns had disappeared.
His response was not a routine return to form. Ohtani delivered a performance so complete that his earlier struggles became a footnote before the final out.
The victory sent Los Angeles back to the World Series and earned Ohtani the NLCS Most Valuable Player Award. More importantly, it gave him the defining postseason game that had been missing from an already historic career.
He had dominated regular seasons, collected MVP Awards and created statistical categories that previously did not exist. Game 4 proved that his complete skill set could also decide a championship series.
The ESPYs made the recognition official
Ohtani’s two ESPY trophies now sit naturally beside each other. One recognized the best player in baseball. The other honored the night he proved it under the greatest pressure his sport could offer.
Voters did not have to overthink the choice. His pitching line alone could have carried Los Angeles to the World Series. Three home runs by themselves would have earned a permanent place in October history.
Together, they provided the clearest picture yet of what separates Ohtani from every other player.
He did not merely contribute as a pitcher and hitter. He dominated both roles at the same time, against the team with the best regular-season record in the majors, with a pennant waiting at the finish.
The ESPYs made the recognition official. Game 4 had already settled the argument.
Ten strikeouts. Three home runs. Six scoreless innings. One trip to the World Series.
Baseball may never see another night quite like it.
READ MORE: The Best Game Ever Played. Shohei Ohtani’s NLCS Night Rewrites the Book
FAQS
Q1. How many ESPYs did Shohei Ohtani win?
Ohtani won two ESPYs. He received Best Single Game Performance and Best MLB Player.
Q2. What did Shohei Ohtani do in NLCS Game 4?
He hit three home runs and struck out 10 Brewers while pitching six scoreless innings.
Q3. How far was Shohei Ohtani’s longest home run?
His longest home run traveled 469 feet and cleared the right field pavilion roof at Dodger Stadium.
Q4. Did the Dodgers clinch the pennant in Ohtani’s historic game?
Yes. Their 5 to 1 victory completed a four-game sweep and secured a second consecutive National League pennant.
Q5. Why was Ohtani’s NLCS Game 4 performance historic?
He became the first MLB player to hit three home runs and record 10 pitching strikeouts in the same game.
I live for the roar of the crowd, the rush of a new city, and the kind of moments that turn into lifelong memories. Sports keep me energized, travel keeps me grounded, and every journey gives me a fresh story to tell.
