At 8:46 p.m. ET, Ohtani was strolling off the mound after striking out three Brewers in the top of the first inning of NLCS Game 4. And his K’s of Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich came on fastballs that clocked in at 100 mph.
Up in Seattle — and just two minutes later — the Mariners were facing a 2-1 deficit in the eighth inning of ALCS Game 5 against the Blue Jays. But that’s when MLB’s home run leader, Cal Raleigh, stepped to the plate and hit a skyscraping homer to tie the score and send T-Mobile Park into a frenzy.
Back down in L.A., Ohtani was digging into the batter’s box. At 8:50 p.m. ET, he followed his possible MVP counterpart by blasting a pitch from Brewers starter Jose Quintana nearly to the top of the Right Field Pavilion at Dodger Stadium. Just a few minutes after blowing hitters away with 100 mph heat, Ohtani hit a 446-foot homer with an exit velocity of 116.5 mph. It was the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in any game in MLB history.
The Mariners’ offense didn’t stop after Raleigh’s dinger. They kept the line moving against the Blue Jays’ bullpen in the eighth, setting the stage for Eugenio Suárez. He went to the plate with the bases loaded — and at 9 p.m. ET, he clubbed a fastball from Seranthony Domínguez over the right-field wall for a go-ahead grand slam.