by Megan Garcia
The number four is now symbolic of one of the most impressive stretches in Dodger postseason history.
And it took four dynamite starters to get there.
The Dodgers needed four games to win their second consecutive National League pennant. They beat the Brewers by a four-run differential, 5–1, in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Friday.
In total, Dodger pitchers limited the Brewers to four runs in the NLCS.
Now, they’re headed to the World Series to defend their 2024 title behind six-plus spectacular innings from Shohei Ohtani — the Dodgers’ fourth starter of the series — after neutralizing one of the best offensive teams in baseball.
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“It’s just a very talented group. It’s a very focused and very hungry group. So, I think that when you get those components, it’s tough to beat,” said manager Dave Roberts. “And we mind the little things. We’re hungry. We don’t really care what happened before. And we’re playing good baseball. We’re healthy and we’ve still got some work to do, though.”
The starting pitching was considered the Dodgers’ strongest muscle entering the National League Championship Series. The rotation took it to new levels against the Brewers.
The arms of Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell posted a 0.63 ERA (two earned runs in 28 2/3 innings pitched) combined against the Brewers. Milwaukee was held to a .096 batting average in the series — a stark contrast from their .258 batting average that ranked third in Major League Baseball during the regular season.
“Since the beginning of time in baseball, when you have dominant pitching on the mound throwing 98 to 100, every guy and tremendous off-speed pitches, the command they showed — Will Smith deserves a ton of credit,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “I said it was dominant pitching. If you want to say our offense — I think most offenses would struggle.”
Dodger starters also combined for 35 strikeouts in four games. Ohtani was responsible for 10 of them on Thursday, while he also clubbed three home runs in three at-bats.
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“The last several days, we did a pretty good job, as a starting (rotation), being able to get outs and be effective,” Ohtani said. “And just looking at the entire lineup, my impression that I had was that it’s a very tough, effective lineup. Talking with Will Smith, we had a pretty good game plan going into the game and we were able to execute it.”
Ohtani’s two-way efforts led to his crowning as the NLCS Most Valuable Player. He’s the first Dodger pitcher since Orel Hershiser in 1988 to earn the award.
It was a strong breakout after the two-way star went 2-for-20 in five games entering Friday.
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“I think there was a lot of talk that he was scuffling at the plate, he doesn’t swing the bat well when he’s pitching. And all those things I think were fuel to his fire,” Roberts said. “So, today when he took the mound, you can see the focus, the intent. And after that shutdown first inning, just the at-bat right there, you could see that he was smelling a really good night tonight.”
Snell’s eight-inning, 10-strikeout scoreless start in Game 1 was the blueprint for his teammates. He became the first Dodger pitcher to complete eight innings while allowing one hit or fewer in a postseason game.
Then, Yamamoto followed up with a complete game in Game 2. It was the first one by a Dodger pitcher in the postseason since José Lima in Game 3 of the 2004 National League Division Series.
Glasnow kept the Brewers off-balance through 5 2/3 innings in Game 3 while racking up eight strikeouts.
And then, there was Ohtani in Game 4, who authored one of the best performances in postseason history.
With each passing inning, the overall picture inched closer to reality: a National League title and a ticket punched to the World Series.
2025 NLCS: Dodger starters wield their dominance for NL pennant was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.