LOS ANGELES - Shohei Ohtani slugged his first home run of the postseason before the Los Angeles Dodgers were knocked out of the National League Championship Series with four straight defeats on Thursday with a 6-4 loss against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The two-way superstar crushed Dustin May's 1-1 cutter to right for a three-run shot in the second inning at Dodger Stadium, punching the air after his first homer since Aug. 18 gave the home team a 4-0 lead with Andy Pages singling in the opening run earlier.
But the two-time defending World Series champion could not hold on. Jake Bauers plated two runs on a ground-rule double in the fourth off Tyler Glasnow before David Hamilton singled in another to chase the right-hander in the fifth.
Reliever Evan Phillips issued two walks to load the bases with two outs before second reliever Alex Vesia threw four straight balls against Bauers to surrender the game-tying run.
Garrett Mitchell blasted a solo shot off Dodgers third reliever Tanner Scott (0-1) in the sixth to turn the game around and Hamilton also went deep in the ninth for the Brewers.
The Dodgers had a runner in a scoring position from the sixth to eighth but were unable to make any of them count and failed to become the third club to win three straight World Series, previously achieved by the Oakland Athletics (1972-74) and New York Yankees (1998-2000).
Batting leadoff for the first time in this postseason, Ohtani went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. The four-time MVP ended his difficult postseason batting .192.
"In the end that homer was just about it. It was a series that made me realize my lack of ability," said Ohtani, who could not hide his frustration after striking out swinging on three pitches with a runner on third and one out in the seventh.
"(The manager) eventually put his faith in the batting order we'd fought with throughout the season. I wanted to repay him with a win," he added. "I'll look to work hard again from scratch. I want to thank my teammates for the days we spent together united as a team."
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who gave up three runs over 2-2/3 innings in Game 2, was scheduled to pitch again if the series reached Game 6 but was left stunned on the bench following his team's early exit.
Fellow right-hander Roki Sasaki, who was turned into a reliever late in the regular season, said he was "prepared to pitch at any moment," while vowing to earn a spot in the starting rotation for next year's postseason.
"I need to put in performances that are deserving of a place there," he said. "I'll try to overcome issues that surfaced this year."
The Brewers will be seeking to win their first World Series after losing in their only previous appearance in 1982.
The Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 and lead the American League Championship Series 2-1.
