By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) -Shohei Ohtani’s otherworldly performance that propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series has left the sporting world in awe, with players and legends alike marvelling at what may have been the greatest single-game display in MLB history.
In a Friday night masterpiece, Ohtani flashed his dominance on both sides of the ball, hitting three homers and pitching six scoreless innings while striking out 10 batters to complete a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.
“That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “There’s been a lot of postseason games. And there’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet.”
Dodgers teammate Mookie Betts perhaps captured it best: “It’s like we’re the Chicago Bulls, and he’s Michael Jordan.”
Ohtani wasted no time making his presence felt in Friday’s game. He walked the first batter he faced but then struck out a trio of Milwaukee batters before leading off the bottom of the first inning with a home run.
His next homer was a majestic jaw-dropping solo blast that he hit completely out of Dodger Stadium in the fourth inning to put the home side ahead 4-0 before adding another in the seventh.
The Japanese two-way sensation achieved numerous firsts on Friday, becoming the first player with three homers and 10 strikeouts as a pitcher in the same game, the first pitcher with multiple home runs in a playoff contest, and first pitcher to hit a leadoff homer in any MLB game.
“Gotta be one of the greatest athletic performances in history. Never seen anything like Shohei,” three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt wrote on X.
Dodgers part-owner Magic Johnson, who produced his share of standout games during a Hall of Fame NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, also chimed in after watching a dominant Ohtani allow just two hits in Friday’s game.
“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!” wrote Johnson.
American tennis great Billie Jean King, also a part owner of the Dodgers, posted a photo on X of her, partner Ilana Kloss and Ohtani on the field after the game with all three smiling and wearing National League Champions T-shirts.
“We were so fortunate to have witnessed the greatest performance by Shohei Ohtani as both a pitcher and hitter: 10 strikeouts and 3 home runs. And he’s just getting started,” King wrote in the social media post.
After being named NLCS Most Valuable Player, Ohtani remained characteristically humble.
“We won it as a team, and this was really a team effort,” he said through his interpreter. “So I hope everybody in L.A. and Japan and all over the world could enjoy a really good sake.”
The reigning champion Dodgers will face either the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. The Mariners lead the Blue Jays 3-2 in the American League Championship Series and can wrap up the series with a win Sunday in Toronto.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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