LOS ANGELES — The Greatest Sho-man has arrived, just as the Los Angeles Dodgers are on the verge of returning to the World Series.
Shohei Ohtani, the likely MVP whose postseason swoon has consumed plenty of oxygen this month, announced his presence early in the Dodgers’ 5-1 National League Championship Series clincher.
In the top of the first, as a starting pitcher, he reached 100 mph several times while striking out three Milwaukee Brewers.
In the bottom of the first, as a hitter, Ohtani helped himself out in emphatic fashion with a mammoth home run toward the back row of pavilion seats at Dodger Stadium.
As it turns out, that was just a warm-up act.
Ohtani continued to one-up even himself, testing the limits of this ballpark and human comprehension. In the fourth inning, Ohtani walloped a Chad Patrick cutter even farther up the pavilions, sending the ball clear onto the concourse but below the roof lining the top of the section. Statcast estimated the distance of the blast at 469 feet, coming off Ohtani’s bat at 116.9 mph.
Homering after just striking out three batters? Only Shohei. pic.twitter.com/6ehcpW6v9L
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 18, 2025
Ohtani’s heroics continued even after he left the mound in the seventh inning, connecting on a Trevor Megill fastball on the inner half of the plate and sending it out to left-center field. The 113.6 mph rocket off his bat paled in comparison to the mammoth distances of his first two homers, traveling a mere 427 feet.
Oh, and his final pitching line? Ohtani delivered six shutout innings in which he gave up two hits, walked three and struck out 10.
The Dodgers had been a juggernaut this October, even without Ohtani’s bat coming to life. They entered Game 4 on Friday having won eight of their past nine games to start this run, while the two-way superstar had only four hits in his last 33 at-bats (with 14 strikeouts).
“I think this is his opportunity to make his mark on this series,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday ahead of Ohtani’s start. “And, so, we’re going to see his best effort. So, I feel good that he’s pitching for us. And there’s going to be some serious focus tonight.”
Welcome to the party, Ohtani. It was the first leadoff homer ever by a pitcher in baseball history, regular season or postseason, according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.
Ohtani had already had an impressive start to his second career postseason pitching start, working around a leadoff walk to Brice Turang to strike out Jackson Chourio (on a 100.3 mph fastball), Christian Yelich (100.2 mph fastball) and William Contreras (on a sweeper off the plate) to finish up the inning.
Shohei Ohtani’s first strikeout of the night is on a 100 MPH heater 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jrHMOuR664
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025
Ohtani didn’t even step into the dugout between innings, heading straight for the on-deck circle to prepare to lead off against Brewers starter Jose Quintana. The left-hander tried to establish his off-speed arsenal off the plate against Ohtani, luring him into the strike zone. When Ohtani worked the count full, Quintana tried another slurve. This one didn’t go off the plate, breaking right into Ohtani’s swing as he launched a ball 116.5 mph off his bat and a projected 446 feet from home plate.
It was, unsurprisingly, the first home run by a pitcher in Dodgers postseason history.