LOS ANGELES (AP) — Back atop the batting order, Shohei Ohtani responded with a three-run homer for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday.
With the Dodgers facing elimination, 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.
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.
Kyle Tucker singled leading off the second to chase Brewers opener Shane Drohan, and Teoscar Hernández followed with a single off May that put runners at the corners. One out later, Tucker scored on Andy Pages' single.
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.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts restored Ohtani to his familiar leadoff spot for Game 4. The Dodgers came in trailing the Brewers 3-0 in the best-of-seven series and needed four straight wins to reach the World Series and keep alive their bid for a third consecutive championship.
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 to raise his batting average to .182.
“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.
Roberts said Ohtani has given him reasons to believe in him, citing better at-bats lately and the slugger staying at the ballpark until 9 p.m. on Tuesday's off day to work on his swing.
“Baking all that in, I felt absolutely, put him at the top,” Roberts said. “I feel good about him taking five at-bats and giving us our best chance to win and produce runs.”
Roberts shuffled the entire lineup after Wednesday's loss put the Dodgers on the brink of elimination. Mookie Betts, who led off in Game 3, was bumped to No. 2, while Freddie Freeman moved to No. 3.
Will Smith, whose offensive struggles mirrored Ohtani's, moved up to fourth from seventh. Smith doubled in the sixth inning Wednesday, when the Dodgers briefly took a 2-1 lead in Game 3.
“I thought Will took very good at-bats, big hit yesterday,” Roberts said. “He’s been in big spots.”
Kyle Tucker hit fifth, while Hernández went from third to sixth. Miguel Rojas was set to hit seventh, but Max Muncy took his turn in the order after Milwaukee changed pitchers, and Pages dropped to eighth from fifth.
Kiké Hernández, who came off the bench in Game 3, hit ninth.
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