Ohtani hits early 3-run homer but comes up empty late as Dodgers get swept by Brewers in NLCS

LOS ANGELES — Back atop the batting order, Shohei Ohtani responded with a three-run homer that helped the Los Angeles Dodgers build their early lead in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

But it wasn't enough to keep the Milwaukee Brewers from advancing to their first World Series in 44 years on Thursday.

The Dodgers lost 6-4 and got swept in four games, the same thing they did to the Brewers last year on the way to winning a second straight World Series title.

Ohtani went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts — including a big one in the seventh inning with the potential tying run at third base and one out. He hit .192 in the playoffs (5 for 26) with three RBIs, four walks and 10 strikeouts.

Last season, Ohtani was the NLCS MVP after hitting three home runs and striking out 10 batters over six-plus shutout innings of two-hit ball during a dominant two-way performance in the clinching Game 4.

“Ohtani is arguably the best player in the world, and he’s proven that to us,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “He had the greatest game I’ve ever seen played by an individual player last year against us.”

With the Dodgers facing elimination this time, Ohtani's 428-foot drive to right-center off former teammate Dustin May left his bat at 113.1 mph and gave Los Angeles a 4-0 lead in the second inning. It was the Dodgers' first homer of the series and his first since Aug. 18 at Colorado — a span of 116 plate appearances.

“I thought we woke up a giant. I’m like, ‘Oh, God, here we go,’” Murphy said. “But we had a little JoJo Romero for them and Aaron Ashby for them later on. That did the trick.”

The typically placid Ohtani reacted in a most un-Ohtani way: raising his arms and yelling toward the Dodgers' dugout before beginning his trot around the bases.

“I think it was a lot of pent-up anger, frustration. It was the best ball he hit in probably two, three months, and it was a big hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “For him to look at the dugout, show that emotion, it just shows how much he cares. He’s still human. He still cares and wants to help his team win a baseball game.”

With two outs, Ohtani unleashed the smooth and powerful swing that had mostly deserted him over the last few months while he dealt with knee and arm issues.

The four-time MVP struck out swinging so hard in the first that his helmet came off.

“I think he’s the best player on the planet, and he’s not completely healthy,” Roberts said. “But I just give him a lot of respect for not running from it, still wanting to participate, still wanting to play when he’s not 100%.”

Roberts restored Ohtani to his familiar leadoff spot for Game 4.

Ohtani batted sixth in a 6-2 loss on Wednesday, the lowest he's hit since joining the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season. He was 1 for 2 with a walk and a hit by pitch.

“Just seeing the work the last couple days, I like where his head is at,” Roberts said before the game. “I liked the at-bats yesterday. Obviously we haven’t performed the way that we’re capable of, so to kind of shake it up a little bit, but something that’s of somewhat normalcy that our guys are used to.”

Ohtani typically leads off but was dropped lower while struggling with injuries to his left knee and right biceps over the last few months that have prevented the two-way star from pitching since early July. Roberts didn't tell Ohtani about the change before posting the Game 4 lineup.

“It's not one player that didn’t come through. It was all of us,” Roberts said. “But I’m really impressed with what Shohei did. I'll always trust Shohei."