After an uncharacteristically quiet stretch from starting pitcher and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani to start the postseason, the 31-year-old put together a ridiculous performance in Game 4 of the NLCS that just might be one of the best outings of all time in professional sports.
Ohtani’s legendary night started on the mound, where he struck out three batters in the top of the first inning before walking off the mound, putting on his helmet and hitting a home run as the leadoff batter for the Dodgers.
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That stretch was emblematic of the jaw-dropping night Ohtani would go on to have.
Ohtani’s stat line reads like something out of an MLB: The Show game set to easy mode with his three home runs on three at-bats, six innings pitched, 10 strikeouts, two hits and zero runs allowed.
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“That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “There’s been a lot of postseason games. And there’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet. What he did on the mound, what he did at the bat, he created a lot of memories for a lot of people.”
Ohtani’s legendary performance came after he had struggled to make contact over the postseason, going 2-for-25 at the plate before his three-home run night. With a trip to the World Series on the line, Ohtani reminded the baseball world why the Dodgers inked him to one of the game’s biggest contracts.
His second home run will be the one most remember, crushing a 469-foot homer out of the stadium in the fourth inning.
“How far he hit this one tonight surprised me,” Roberts said. “Just — yeah, probably not but the distance, the velocity of that one was pretty impressive. But it’s kind of whatever you don’t expect, expect him to do it. So I’ve fortunately had a pretty good seat to a lot of those moments.”
With at least four games remaining in the postseason, the Dodgers and the rest of the baseball world will continue to watch in awe as Ohtani continues to cement himself in baseball history.
“This is just a performance that I’ve just never seen. No one’s ever seen something like this,” Roberts said. “I’m still in awe right now of Shohei.”
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