Shohei Ohtani was omnipotent on Friday as he led the Los Angeles Dodgers to yet another World Series berth.
Ohtani was on the mound to start Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. He was dominant as a pitcher, striking out 10 batters and allowing just two hits across six scoreless innings. The pitching feat alone, with the Dodgers leading the series 3-0, would have been impressive enough. But Ohtani, the pitcher, got outdone by Ohtani, the hitter.
After striking out the side in the top of the first inning, Ohtani led off the game for the Dodgers with a 446-foot home run to right field off Brewers starter Jose Quintana. Coincidentally, Ohtani did the exact same thing on the same date against the same pitcher in Game 4 of the 2024 ALCS, when Quintana was pitching for the New York Mets.
Ohtani one-upped himself in the bottom of the fourth inning. He blasted a deep ball 469 feet to right-center field. The ball appeared to leave Dodger Stadium and left Ohtani’s teammates in utter disbelief.
SHOHEI OHTANI SENDS ONE 469 FEET! pic.twitter.com/P5uLNt1FSH
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 18, 2025
Shohei then took permanent residence in Brewers fans’ nightmares when he hit a third home run in the seventh inning.
HE DOES IT AGAIN 🦄
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025
SHOHEI OHTANI HAS A THREE-HOMER GAME! pic.twitter.com/EWGgYuuV6o
Ohtani hit three home runs to three different spots in the stands against three different pitchers. The two-way excellence had several fans and reporters dubbing Ohtani’s NLCS Game 4 as the greatest single-game performance in MLB playoff history.
Shohei Ohtani might’ve just put together the greatest single-game highlight reel in MLB history pic.twitter.com/yPhjZ2LDxQ
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 18, 2025
Ohtani is the 11th player to hit 3 home runs in a postseason game. He’s also the first to do it while whiffing 10. Gotta be the greatest October performance ever and don’t @ me.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 18, 2025
If Ohtani hit into a triple play in his last at bat this would still be the greatest individual playoff game of all-time.
— Cousin Sal (@TheCousinSal) October 18, 2025
Ohtani is playing maybe the single greatest baseball game of all time… In a pennant clinching game… We read about this type of thing in disbelief because old baseball stories come off as folk tales. We are watching this!
— Cody Decker (@Decker6) October 18, 2025
Ohtani finished 3-for-3 with three home runs and a walk in his four plate appearances. But given his nature as a baseball purist, he’d probably be the first to tell you the most important stat was how he helped the Dodgers to a 5-1 win to return to the World Series.
It’s Shohei’s world, and we’re just living in it.
