Oct 20, 2025 | 5:15 am UTC

MLB playoffs live updates, analysis: NLCS Game 4, ALCS Game 5

By ESPN | 5 min read | | 2 days ago | 1001 views
MLB playoffs live updates, analysis: NLCS Game 4, ALCS Game 5


For the final time in 2025, there were two MLB playoff games on the same night — and the postseason doubleheader delivered in a major way.

In Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners took a close game into the eighth inning before a grand slam gave Seattle its first home victory and put the M’s one win away from the first World Series in franchise history.

Later on, Shohei Ohtani put together the greatest two-way performance in MLB playoff history as the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers completed a sweep of the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

We’ve got it all covered for you with takeaways, top moments, the star of each game — and where the MLB playoffs are headed next.

Key links: Bracket

Takeaways

Los Angeles wins series 4-0

It was over when …: Shohei Ohtani stepped on the field. In the annals of all-time Ohtani games, this is near the top. He shut out the Brewers for 6.1 innings, allowing two hits and striking out 10. He hit three towering, magnificent home runs. And he did it all to clinch the National League pennant for the Dodgers at home. The most talented player ever, at his apex. — Jeff Passan

Game 4 star: Ohtani is the only choice. The first pitcher ever to hit a leadoff home run in any game, regular season or postseason. The first pitcher to homer twice in a postseason game — and thrice. An exclamation point on a monumentally lopsided series. — Passan

The stat that defined Game 4: There are so many numbers to choose from, but this sums it up nicely: According to ESPN Research, Ohtani became the 94th pitcher with 10 strikeouts in a postseason game and the 12th hitter with three home runs in a postseason game … on the same night.

What’s next for the Dodgers: A week of rest and trying to stay sharp for the beginning of the World Series. If the Mariners win the American League, Game 1 of the World Series is at Dodger Stadium. If the Blue Jays win, Los Angeles will travel to Toronto. Either way, the Dodgers will get the chance to become MLB’s first back-to-back champions since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000. — Passan

Seattle leads series 3-2

It was over when …: Eugenio Suarez delivered the new biggest hit in Mariners history — apologies to Edgar Martinez’s legendary double in the 1995 ALDS — with his bottom-of-the-eighth grand slam that gave the Mariners a 6-2 lead and sent T-Mobile Park into a simultaneous eruption of raucous cheers and joyful tears. Suarez fell behind 1-2 in the count from Seranthony Dominguez, took a sweeper in the dirt, fouled off a fastball and then lined a 98.5 mph fastball to the opposite field and just over the right-field fence.

In the famous words of Mariners Hall of Fame announcer Dave Niehaus, “Get out the rye bread and mustard, it’s grand salami time!”— David Schoenfield

Game 5 star: Certainly it was Suarez, who had also homered earlier in the game to give the Mariners their first run of the game. But a huge shoutout goes to Cal Raleigh, who led off the bottom of the eighth with a rainmaking, 43-degree-launch-angle home run off Brendon Little that tied the score and brought the fans back into the contest — right when it appeared the Mariners were going to lose a third straight home game. — Schoenfield

The stat that defined Game 5: Suarez is the first player to have a two-home run game that includes a grand slam in the postseason since Enrique Hernandez in Game 5 of the 2017 NLCS. Suarez is also the second player in Mariners history with a grand slam in the postseason (Edgar Martinez in 1995). — ESPN Research

What it means for the rest of the series: The Mariners head back to Toronto one win away from the first World Series appearance in franchise history. The Blue Jays head back to the park where they had the best record in the regular season in the American League. Game 5 was playoff baseball at its best, with action and second-guessing all over the place. Game 6 — where Rogers Centre will be rocking as the Blue Jays turn to rookie Trey Yesavage with their season now on the line — promises more of the same. — Schoenfield

Top moments

Brewers at Dodgers

Ohtani goes deep AGAIN

Ohtani hits 469-FOOT blast for his second homer of Game 4

After 3 K’s on the mound, Shohei Ohtani mashes first-inning leadoff homer

Blue Jays at Mariners

Mariners celebrate being one win away from Fall Classic

Chaos in Seattle! Eugenio Suarez piles on with grand slam

Cal Raleigh hits game-tying blast in the 8th

Ernie Clement drives in Alejandro Kirk to give Toronto lead

Jays tie it up with RBI double from George Springer

Mariners escape bases-loaded jam unscathed with double play

Suarez hammers solo shot to give M’s early lead





Source: ESPN

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