At what point do we start calling the ‘extraordinary’ the ‘everyday’? Shohei Ohtani once again put in a performance for the ages in Game 4 of the 2025 National League Championship Series, but if we’re being honest, this one might have been his best ever. With the pressure on, he led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5–1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, completing a sweep that sent his side back to the World Series.

The game showcased Ohtani’s once-in-a-generation two-way talent at its absolute peak, an undisputed dominance on the mound paired with unmatched power at the plate.

Pitching first, Ohtani was in complete control through six innings, allowing just two hits while striking out ten and walking three. Then, as if that weren’t enough, he single-handedly powered the Dodgers’ offence with three home runs. The trio combined for more than 1,300 feet of flight distance, and his leadoff homer as a pitcher was the first ever in postseason history.

The outing set multiple records. Ohtani became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to strike out ten or more batters and hit three home runs in the same game. “It was really fun on both sides of the ball today,” said Ohtani after the game. “I’m taking [the NVP award] and let’s get four more wins. We won it as a team and this is really a team effort. I hope everybody in LA and Japan and all over the world could enjoy a really good sake [Japanese rice wine].”

Manager Dave Roberts summed it up best afterward, calling Ohtani’s display “probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” and he was not alone.

The world was quick to react to the performance, with fans on Twitter questioning what they had just witnessed. “CAN YOU BELIEVE WE GOT TO WATCH OHTANI DO THAT????” one user wrote; “Never seen anything like Shohei” said another.

Magic Johnson, the legendary point guard, wrote on Twitter: “We’ve seen a baseball player hit three HRs in a Playoff game and we’ve seen a pitcher throw a two hitter and 10 strikeouts in a Playoff game – but we’ve never seen one player do both like Shohei Ohtani did tonight!“

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