Dodgers sweep Brewers thanks to Ohtani’s legendary game

Six shutout innings, 10 strikeouts, and three home runs. Those are the numbers we will be talking about for years to come when we speak of one of the greatest postseason performances of all time. Of course it was done by Shohei Ohtani, the only man capable of even pitching and hitting in the same baseball game, let alone dominating in both aspects to almost single-handedly clinch the pennant for the Dodgers.

Perhaps the only thing you can say to drag down Ohtani’s accomplishment is that the series appeared well in hand no matter what happened with the Dodgers ahead 3-0. Maybe the next time Ohtani takes the mound, it will be in a critical spot in the World Series. Still, what Ohtani did is baseball magic, especially since he didn’t get back to pitching this year until the middle of the season. For him to be dominant over six innings and hit three home runs, including one nuke that left Dodger Stadium, puts him in the realm of October legends like Don Larsen and Reggie Jackson.

The Dodgers are now four wins away from becoming the first repeat World Series champs since the 2000 Yankees, but we don’t yet know which American League team will try to stop them. After two games of the ALCS, it looked like that squad would certainly be the Mariners, but then the Blue Jays struck back with two huge wins in Seattle. Toronto appeared to be on its way to taking control of the series when George Springer hit an RBI double in the fifth inning and Ernie Clement hit an RBI single in the sixth to overcome an early 1-0 deficit. Clement’s big hit made up for him dribbling into a 2-2-3 double play with the bases loaded in the fourth and got Alejandro Kirk to chug around from second base for the go-ahead run.

It turns out that the Blue Jays could have used a hit from Clement in the fourth as well. That’s because, unlike in Game 3 and Game 4, the Mariners fought back. Cal Raleigh grew his legend with a game-tying solo shot in the eighth off of Brandon Little. Then, after Seattle loaded the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch, Eugenio Suarez unloaded with an opposite-field grand slam off of Seranthony Dominguez. The clutch blast gave the Mariners a 6-2 victory and gave them two chances to clinch their first ever AL pennant. They’ll have to do the clinching in Toronto, but they’ve already won twice there this series.

Two results on the gridiron had an effect on the Penn State coaching search, as Nebraska lost to Minnesota 24-6 to knock Matt Rhule down the list of potential candidates. Someone who might take his place on the list is Jeff Brohm, who led his Louisville Cardinals to a big 24-21 upset over Miami despite a late fumble by Isaac Brown that allowed the Canes to get back in the game. Miami got the ball back trailing by three with just under four minutes left, but Carson Beck thew his fourth interception of the game after leading his team into field goal range. Poor Miami got a dose of the old Beck at the worst possible time.

Brohm is a great candidate for the next Penn State head coach, but Louisville is his alma mater, so he might be tough to pry away. I still think Pat Fitzgerald is being overlooked, especially since he does not hold a coaching job right now.

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