Ohtani Delivers on Dodgers‘ vision โin Historic Postseason Win
PHILADELPHIA, โPA – October 4,โฃ 2025 – Shohei Ohtani โขshowcased his two-way dominance,โ leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series at Citizens Bank Park. While his hitting wasn’t at โฃits peak, Ohtani’s pitching performance proved pivotal in turning the tide ofโข the game, solidifying the Dodgers’ belief in his unique skillset. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
The Phillies โฃjumped to a 3-0 lead, highlighted โby a two-run triple โfrom J.T. Realmuto. Theyโ continued to threaten in theโฃ fifth inning, loadingโค runners on first and second with oneโ out after Ohtani โคhit Harrison โBader โand Bryson Stottโข followed with a single. Phillies manager Rob Thomson strategically placed โคBader and Stott in the 8-9 spots in theโ batting order to set the table for Trea Turner and Kyle schwarber.
Ohtani โขresponded by inducing a lineout from โขTurner and then striking out Schwarber withโ a curveball โ- a pitch heโข uses less than 9% of โthe time,according to Baseball Savant data. Dodgers manager Daveโ Roberts โdemonstrated unwavering confidence in Ohtani, keeping him in the game as no Dodgers pitcher warmed up in the bullpen.
“Iโ just felt that he โwas just getting better as the โขnight whent on,” Roberts said. “I thought he โwas the best option, and nothing that I was โคseeing showed a dropoff. And โso, if he could chew up a couple more innings, โI thought it would help us tonight and the games โgoing forward.”
After being relievedโค by Tyler Glasnow -โข signaling the Dodgers’ intention to utilize starters as โrelievers – Ohtani continued to contribute to the team’s strategy. In the top of the โninth inning, he noticeably slowed hisโข walk toโข the plate and unexpectedly showed a bunt, despite having โคno sacrifice โhits in 4,329 regular season at-bats.
Ohtani โคrevealed his intention was to buy time โขfor closer Roki Sasaki to warm up. “I was told by Dave Roberts to make some timeโ for Roki pitching โin the bullpen, warming up. So I did,” Ohtani said through his translator, โadding with a grin, “I wanted to do everythingโ in my power to make sure we got ample time for โhim.”
Sasaki pitched aโ scoreless ninth inning, completing aโข historic night.According to Sarah Langs, this marked โฃonly the second postseason game in MLB history with a Japanese duo earning both the win and the save.
For Ohtani, the victory โขwas about fulfillingโข the Dodgers’ vision forโ him โas an elite โฃtwo-way player. “Yeah,the reason why I’m a two-way โคplayer is because that’s who I am and it’s what I can do,and โฃalso,at the โคsame time,it’s what the team wants,” Ohtani explained.”So that’s the reason why I’ve been doing this.”