By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
Shohei Ohtani flung his bat into the air, exulted toward the sky, and for one shining moment, the improbable seemed more than merely possible.
The ball hadn’t yet landed in the right-field pavilion, but the Dodgers and their fans were in full-tilt celebration. Not just because their superstar had hit a home run, but it was a sign that the team’s offensive malaise might finally be breaking, that for the first time in the series, the ball would be bouncing their way.
The notion of a three-peat for the back-to-back world champs was still alive, regardless of the long odds. At this moment, the team many expected to return to the World Series – and win it – appeared to be returning to form.
The joy was a distant memory by the time Kiké Hernandez’s fly ball settled into left-fielder Jackson Chourio’s glove for the final out of the ninth inning on Thursday, as the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series and booked their first trip to the World Series since 1982.
In perhaps returning the favor from last year, when the Dodgers won four straight against the Brewers, Milwaukee was the better team in essentially every aspect of the game: starting pitching, relief pitching, batting, situational hitting … they simply played winning baseball.
“They played flawless. They really did,” Dodger manager Dave Roberts said in the postgame press conference, after the visiting Brewers overcame a 4-0 deficit and scored six unanswered runs to complete the sweep.
“I think for me, it never feels good to lose, but when you get beat, you can handle it a little bit better,” Roberts said after addressing his team following the loss. “I had a good conversation with the guys in there, and just told them how proud I was. I’m not used to those speeches, those consolation speeches.”
The Brewers had the best record in the major leagues this season, winning 103 games, while L.A. was runner-up with 100 victories.
“For us, it was just pitting two really good ball clubs against one another, and they won out,” Roberts added.
Ohtani’s three-run shot in the second inning was the sole home run of the series for the Dodgers, who had relied heavily on the long ball for wins late in the regular season and into the playoffs.
“I’m very disappointed, but the Brewers are a very good team; you have to give them credit,” Ohtani said through an interpreter in the home clubhouse. “They were able to expose some of our weaknesses.”
For Ohtani, the weaknesses weren’t just stats on a page. He’s been dealing with power-sapping infirmities for months, including a sore right shoulder and gimpy left knee. His last home run came nearly two months prior to Thursday’s shot, and the team shut down his pitching game at the end of July.
He said he is completely committed to returning as a two-way player in 2027, using the off-season to focus on rest, rehab and recovery.
In this year’s NLCS, Ohtani finished batting a paltry .192 with only one home run and 10 strikeouts in 26 at-bats. He had struggled at the plate to the point there was talk of the unthinkable – Roberts not starting him in Game 4.
After some serious conversation, the manager went with his superstar in the lineup, and early on, at least, it paid off.
“I’ll always trust Shohei. I think he’s the best player on the planet, and he’s not completely healthy,” Roberts explained. “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 percent.”
Roberts noted the rare display of emotion from the Japanese star once the Game 4 home run ball left his bat.
“It was something that you don’t see very often from Shohei. 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.
“So I think that 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. That was a big hit.”
As gracious as Roberts, Ohtani and the rest of the Dodgers were in defeat, the sting was clear in their voices.
“I’m tremendously grateful for the time we have spent as a team, even though we fell short this year,” Ohtani said. “I want to use this feeling as a catalyst for next season.”
Max Muncy, whose frustrations were laid bare in Game 4 after he struck out with a tying run at third base and slammed his bat to the ground, said he and the Dodgers gave it their best.
“We left it all out there, but the train finally ran out of steam,” Muncy conceded.
The Dodgers were vying to become the first National League team to win three straight World Series titles. The New York Yankees achieved the feat from 1998 to 2000, following the Oakland A’s from 1972 to 1974.
“I certainly think that I wish it was us going to the World Series and defending our crown, but those guys, they earned it, and it’s going to be a heck of a World Series,” Roberts said.
Heading into Game 3 in the American League Championship Series, the Cleveland Guardians held a 2-1 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. The game scheduled for Friday has been pushed back to Saturday due to weather.
The Brewers and Rays are among the five MLB teams that have never won a World Series, along with the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies.