Ohtani hits 3 HRs, throws 6 shutout IP, wins NLCS MVP

This time, Shohei Ohtani outdid even himself.

Ohtani was named NLCS MVP after turning in perhaps the greatest single-game performance in postseason history Friday. The two-way superstar hit three home runs at the plate while striking out 10 over six-plus shutout innings on the mound to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the series-clinching Game 4.

Ohtani's third homer to tie the single-game postseason record was a 427-foot blast off Trevor Megill in the seventh inning. He's the first player in baseball history - both regular season and playoffs - to hit three home runs and record 10-plus strikeouts as a pitcher in the same game, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

"That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all-time," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Ohtani opened the game by hitting a leadoff home run, mere moments after striking out three Brewers in the top of the first. It was the first leadoff homer hit by a pitcher in baseball history, according to Langs.

In the fourth, he crushed his second homer, a 469-foot moonshot completely out of Dodger Stadium. Ohtani is just the third left-handed hitter to ever clear the stadium's right-field pavilion, joining Willie Stargell and Kyle Schwarber, per Jayson Stark of The Athletic.

Ohtani's three-homer game is the 13th in postseason history, and he's both the 12th individual player and third Dodger to do it. He's also the sixth to hit three in a potential series-clinching game, per Stathead - joining a list that includes his teammate Kiké Hernández, who hit three in the Dodgers' 2017 NLCS-clinching win. Ohtani and Hall of Famer George Brett are the only players to have a three-homer playoff game batting leadoff, according to OptaStats.

"We were part of tonight an iconic, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Ohtani. "I don't think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers."

Ohtani is also the first Dodgers pitcher to homer in a playoff game, and the first pitcher to do it since Milwaukee's Brandon Woodruff did it against L.A. in 2018, according to Langs.

The three-time NL MVP is just the second player to record a three-homer game in the modern era during a game that he pitched, whether in the regular season or playoffs, according to Stathead. The only other starting pitcher with a three-homer game was Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves on May 13, 1942.

"I've said it multiple times: We're like the Bulls, and he's Michael Jordan," superstar shortstop Mookie Betts told MLB Network's Abby Labar postgame. "Whenever he goes, we're all gonna go, and you see it today. I'm just happy he's on our team."

Overall, Ohtani hit .357/.500/1.143 with three homers, a triple, four RBIs, four runs scored, four walks, and a steal during the Dodgers' four-game NLCS sweep. His only pitching appearance of the series came in Game 4, where he struck out 10 and walked three but gave up just two hits while throwing 100 pitches - meaning he finished the series with a 0.00 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over six-plus frames.

Ohtani is the 10th Dodgers player to win NLCS MVP, and the first pitcher to claim the honor since the Cubs' Jon Lester in 2016.