Blue October Continues: Dodgers Headed Back to World Series with Sweep of Brewers

The Los Angeles Dodgers look as dominant as ever after sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in four games to claim their second straight National League Pennant. Holding a 3-0 series lead, the Dodgers sent out last year’s, and likely this year’s, MVP, Shohei Ohtani, to start on the mound Friday night with a chance to punch their ticket back to the World Series.

While Los Angeles had been red-hot throughout the postseason, Ohtani had struggled at the plate, collecting just two hits in 25 at-bats and striking out 12 times. Game 4, however, offered a Hollywood-style redemption arc, and Ohtani delivered.

Ohtani came out sharp, striking out three Brewers in the top of the first before stepping to the plate as the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter. After working a full count, he crushed a 3-2 breaking ball into the right-field pavilion, giving the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead. The offense followed his lead, Tommy Edman’s single and Teoscar Hernández’s groundout extended the score to 3-0 after the first inning.

Through four shutout innings on the mound, Ohtani remained in control before stepping up for his second at-bat. On a 3-1 count, he launched a cutter 469 feet into the right-field pavilion, the longest home run hit at Dodger Stadium this season. Then, in the seventh inning, Ohtani completed his masterpiece. On a 3-1 fastball, he sent his third home run of the night into the left-field bleachers, extending Los Angeles’s lead to 5-0.

“Probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “What he did on the mound and at the plate, he’s the greatest player on the planet.”

Ohtani threw six shutout innings, striking out 12 batters and allowing just two hits. After the game, he credited his team for helping him reset after early postseason struggles. “I really focused on making sure I was an effective starting pitcher,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “On the hitting side, it took the whole team. We were just trying to find the right balance.”

Rookie sensation Roki Sasaki sealed the win with a flawless ninth inning, completing the Dodgers’ four-game sweep of the Brewers and clinching their second consecutive NL Pennant. This marks only the second time in franchise history that the Dodgers have swept a best-of-seven series, the last being their 1963 World Series sweep of the Yankees.