Who else? Shohei Ohtani beats the Dodgers to the brink of the division title

The night before, he had been stranded in the holding circle by an astonishing triple play that brought the Dodgers’ hopes of a division title to the brink.

On a turbulent Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, Shohei Ohtani finally stepped up to bat.

And promptly took the wind out of the San Diego Padres’ sails.

Triple play, shrink play, memories of the incredible ending the night before were dashed by the behemoth Ohtani, whose single graceful walk, followed by two deafening hits, led the Dodgers to both a 4-3 victory over the Padres and to the brink of their eleventh National League West championship in twelve years.

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting an RBI single in the sixth inning against the Padres at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The magic number is now two and can easily be reached in the final game of the regular season on Thursday night at Chavez Ravine.

If the Dodgers and their starter Walker Buehler can once again chase away the pesky Padres, the game will end with a dogpile on the mound and champagne in the locker room. If the Padres and Joe Musgrove survive, the Dodgers will have to wait for the almost certain victory that comes this weekend in Denver against the terrible Rockies.

Whatever the case, Wednesday’s win virtually secured their impressive crown and an important week off.

Whatever the case, you can bet Ohtani will be right there in the thick of it.

He’s a one-man rally. He’s a one-man blowout. He’s a one-man box score. Let’s face it, in some ways he’s been a one-man team lately.

He’s hit 17 of his last 24 games. He’s hit 15 RBIs in his last six games. He’s yelling line drives and yelling celebrations. His hands are raised to the sky, his fists are pumped all night, and his smile is as big as his heels.

“He’s the best player in baseball, you never think he’s going to retire,” teammate Max Muncy said late Wednesday night, his eyes still wide. “Every time he comes into the box, you wait for something incredible to happen. He doesn’t disappoint very often.”

The only way to stop him, it seems, is to deny him access to the box, and that is exactly what happened less than 24 hours ago.

In the ninth inning on Tuesday night, Ohtani stood menacingly in the waiting circle, looking ready to deliver a game-winning hit, when the Padres left him there and hit a game-winning triple play to secure their 4-2 victory, moving them within two games of the Dodgers with four games remaining.

Stunned silence. Lots of questions. Criticism is spreading. Panic everywhere.

Then, on Wednesday night, Ohtani, who was batting first, left the holding circle and entered the batters’ box, and everything changed.

He appeared to take control away from Padres starter Dylan Cease by forcing him to walk after four pitches. Ohtani then reached second base on a wild pitch and finally scored the Dodgers’ first run on Teoscar Hernández’s two-out single.

Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the team dugout after scoring a run in the first inning against the Padres at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Yes, this Ohtani is so good, he can change the game even with the bat on his shoulder.

“Special,” said Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty. “Unbelievable.”

It got even better. With two outs in the fourth inning of a tied game, Ohtani hit an RBI double into the right field corner and, for the first of several moments that night, the stadium shook.

“You just want to get him up there with a couple of guys on base and you feel like you’re in a good position,” said Flaherty, who was rescued by Ohtani after allowing three runs in five rocky innings.

But the rescue was not yet complete. Two innings later, when the game was tied again, Ohtani hit a single into right field, taking the lead and scoring the ultimately decisive run.

As he stood at first base, he called to the dugout and gestured wildly with his huge arms. This was the visibly passionate Ohtani you rarely see. This was Ohtani just before October.

“You see emotions you never see, and you saw that last week,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He senses the postseason and understands how important these games are.”

Not only his fans are inspired by the sight. His teammates on the Dodgers bench also celebrate with him.

“We have a lot of guys here with a lot of postseason experience. We understand what that means. But when you have guys who haven’t been there and you see the emotions coming out in them, it definitely gets you fired up,” Muncy said.

After that, Ohtani had calmed down considerably and held his post-game press conference with his cap on backwards and a relaxed grin.

I asked him if he had ever felt this good at bat. What a stupid question. Of course he had.

“I think I had the feeling for it (before),” he said in Japanese. “But over the years my hitting technique has improved, as has my physical condition. I think my skills have gradually developed.”

When asked if his first championship race had motivated him, he answered with the pleasingly obvious: the bigger the games became, the more his concentration increased.

“There’s a lot of that,” he said. “I think the enthusiasm of the fans and the team spirit are great. I think those are ingredients to increase concentration.”

Finally, he was asked if he was looking forward to possibly spraying champagne for the first time in his seven-year major league career.

“That’s why we’ve worked so hard up to this point,” he said. “I think it would be special if we could do that tomorrow in a home game.”

However they do it, we suspect they won’t be able to do it without their rarest, most unique, and never-before-seen baseball player.

Shohei Ohtani, a one-man triple play.