The Los Angeles Dodgers finished off an utterly dominant NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, with one of the greatest performances in the history of baseball.
Shohei Ohtani hit three home runs, one of them leaving Dodger Stadium. He threw six scoreless innings, while striking out 10 and allowing only two hits. He is a player with three career MVP awards (soon to be four), a World Series ring and the only 50-homer, 50-stolen-base season in MLB history.
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Yet his masterpiece didn’t come until Friday.
Behind Ohtani, the Dodgers won Game 4 5-1 to complete a sweep that will be remembered for its dominant starting pitching. The Brewers had the best record in baseball during the regular season and featured a lineup defined by patience and clutch hitting. It didn’t matter.
Across four starts, Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow combined for 28 2/3 innings, nine hits, two runs, seven walks and 35 strikeouts. And, of course, three home runs hit against one allowed.
The Dodgers’ bullpen, the team’s perpetually looming weakness, became an afterthought.
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On Friday, Ohtani singlehandedly put the Dodgers ahead in the first inning, striking out three in the top of the frame and then hitting his first homer off José Quintana in the bottom. Mookie Betts and Will Smith set up two more runs with back-to-back hits after Ohtani, giving the Dodgers all the runs they would need in Game 4.
Ohtani kept going, kept dominating, into the seventh inning. His outing on the mound ended with back-to-back baserunners to open that frame, but Alex Vesia came in and kept the Brewers scoreless. Milwaukee got its only run, its fourth of the series, with a rally in the eighth inning against Blake Treinen and Anthony Banda, but that’s all the Brew Crew got.
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Roki Sasaki, making his first career back-to-back appearance, closed out the game in the ninth inning on a special night for Japanese baseball.
Los Angeles will now rest and wait to see if the Toronto Blue Jays or Seattle Mariners emerge victorious in the American League. Either way, the Dodgers will be favored to win their second straight World Series, which would make them the first back-to-back champs since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.
The Dodgers were an elite organization before they signed Ohtani. He has turned them into something else entirely.
NLCS Game 4 live blogLive coverage is over60 updates
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:21 PM CDT
Roki Sasaki gets the save with a flyout from Caleb Durbin, and the Dodgers are on to the World Series.
What an unforgettable night from Shohei Ohtani. And what a dominant performance from the Dodgers in this sweep of the Brewers.
It’s fireworks and “I Love L.A.” at Chavez Ravine.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:23 PM CDT
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:20 PM CDT
Frelick scorches a ground ball, but the Dodgers get an out at second.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:19 PM CDT
Vaughn lines out, and that’s one for Roki.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM CDT
With the crowd chanting “Roki,” William Contreras singles to give the Brewers a ninth-inning baserunner.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:14 PM CDT
The other Hernandez hits a soaring fly ball, and that sends this game to the ninth.
It’s Roki Sasaki time.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:13 PM CDT
With two outs, Teoscar hits a single (and is replaced by pinch-runner Justin Dean), and then Muncy draws a walk.
The Dodgers could make things even more comfortable for themselves with a little cushion here.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:04 PM CDT
What an unbelievable performance from the two-way unicorn.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:03 PM CDT
Yelich bounces one back to the pitcher, and Banda tosses it to first to end the threat.
To the bottom of the eighth we go. It’s 5-1 Dodgers.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 10:02 PM CDT
Band induces a groundout for out No. 2, but the runner is safe at first on what was almost a double play, so the first Brewers run scores. Then Jackson Chourio singles to extend the inning
It’s now 5-1 Dodgers, with two on and two out with Yelich at the plate.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 9:56 PM CDT
Treinen strikes out Isaac Collins for out No. 1, and Roberts is going to Anthony Banda out of the pen.
Probably a good move to not take any chances with Treinen looking so wobbly.
Two on, one out, top of the eighth inning.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 9:53 PM CDT
Andruw Monasterio draws a completely noncompetitive walk, and Treinen has already made a mess for himself.
Two on, nobody out. It’s 5-0 Dodgers.
Fri, October 17, 2025 at 9:52 PM CDT
Blake Treinen is on the mound for the top of the eighth.
Caleb Durbin hits a double to lead off.
Jack Baer
This really might be the greatest single-game performance in the history of baseball.
Jack Baer
Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.
Jack Baer
Tyler Glasnow struck out eight batters and allowed only only three hits in 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Game 3.
It was, by a wide margin, the worst performance by a Dodgers starting pitcher this series.
Jack Baer
The Dodgers’ left-hander keeps Shohei Ohtani’s earned run count at zero and, more importantly, keeps the Brewers scoreless through seven innings.
Ohtani’s final line: 6+ innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 10 strikeouts on 100 pitches. And he’s still not finished at the plate.
Jack Baer
Jack Baer
A leadoff walk and a William Contreras single, the Brewers’ second hit of the game, put a small damper on an all-time night for Ohtani and end his outing on the mound.
Left-hander Alex Vesia is coming in to try to keep the Brewers off the board in the seventh inning.
Jack Baer
Again, outside of the Ohtani HR, which was an all-time talent going god-mode, the Brewers’ rookie pitcher has been pretty good through four innings: only one hit and run allowed with five strikeouts on 47 pitches.
Ohtani is headed back out there for the seventh inning at 87 pitches.