The victory was inelegant, but this wasn’t about style. This was about the final result and the Dodgers stole the win on the road that was necessary for them to win this best-of-five series.

Shohei Ohtani toed the rubber on the game's biggest stage for the first time Saturday night. Ohtani made his postseason pitching debut in the Dodgers' 5-3 Game 1 win over the Phillies in the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park (GameTracker) and pitched well,

Shohei Ohtani struck out not once, twice, three times but four — four! — straight times and almost snuffed a late Dodgers rally.

The Los Angeles Dodgers star is set be the fourth player all time to start a playoff game at pitcher and another position in his postseason career.

But such is Ohtani’s unique status in the game that he made history simply by stepping up to the plate – the 31-year-old is the first player in Major League history to start at least one game as a pitcher and at least one as a non-pitcher in the same postseason.

Shohei Ohtani dug deep after falling behind early in his first postseason start as a pitcher to earn the win against the Phillies, and the effort may have dulled his bat, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Sunday.

Shohei Ohtani dug deep after falling behind early in his first postseason start as a pitcher to earn the win against the Philadelphia Phillies, and the effort may have dulled his bat, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Sunday.

Wondering when Shohei Ohtani might pitch for the Dodgers has been an ongoing question dating back to last postseason. Last year, the two-way star wasn’t really an option considering he hadn’t really progressed much at all in his rehab from 2023 elbow surgery.