Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after hitting a 469-foot home run in the fourth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
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Topline:
Shohei Ohtani propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a two-way performance for the ages.
About the win: Ohtani hit three mammoth homers and struck out 10 while pitching shutout ball into the seventh inning, and the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the National League Championship Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 on Friday night.
What's next: Los Angeles will have a week off before the World Series begins next Friday, either in Toronto or at Dodger Stadium against Seattle. The Mariners beat the Blue Jays 6-2 earlier Friday to take a 3-2 lead in the ALCS, which continues Sunday at Rogers Centre.
Read on ... for details on the historic performance from Shohei Ohtani.
Shohei Ohtani propelled the Los Angeles Dodgers back to the World Series with a two-way performance for the ages.
Ohtani hit three mammoth homers and struck out 10 while pitching shutout ball into the seventh inning, and the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the National League Championship Series with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 on Friday night.
"That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "There's been a lot of postseason games. And there's a reason why he's the greatest player on the planet."
The Dodgers will have a chance to become baseball's first repeat World Series champions in a quarter-century after this mind-blowing night for the three-time MVP, who emphatically ended a quiet postseason by his lofty standards. Ohtani was selected the NLCS MVP essentially on the strength of this one unforgettable game.
"This time around it was my turn to be able to perform," he said through his interpreter.
After striking out three in the top of the first inning, Ohtani hit the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in major league history off Brewers starter Jose Quintana.
Ohtani followed with a 469-foot drive in the fourth, clearing a pavilion roof in right-center.
He added a third solo shot in the seventh, becoming the 12th big league player to hit three homers in a postseason game. His three homers traveled a combined 1,342 feet.
Shohei Ohtani #17 reacts with Will Smith #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 in game four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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Ohtani also thoroughly dominated the Brewers in his second career postseason start on the mound, allowing two hits in his first double-digit strikeout game in a Dodgers uniform. He didn't allow a hit until the fourth, and he fanned two Brewers in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
"Sometimes you've got to check yourself and touch him to make sure he's not just made of steel," said teammate Freddie Freeman, last season's World Series MVP. "Absolutely incredible. Biggest stage, and he goes out and does something like that. It'll probably be remembered as the Shohei Ohtani game."
After the Brewers' first two batters reached in the seventh, Ohtani left the mound to a stadium-shaking ovation — and after Alex Vesia escaped the jam, Ohtani celebrated by hitting his third homer in the bottom half.
The powerhouse Dodgers are the first team to win back-to-back pennants since Philadelphia in 2009. Los Angeles is back in the World Series for the fifth time in nine seasons, and it will attempt to become baseball's first repeat champs since the New York Yankees won three straight World Series from 1998 to 2000.
"That was special," Freeman said. "We've just been playing really good baseball for a while now, and the inevitable kind of happened today — Shohei. Oh my God. I'm still speechless."
Following a 9-1 rampage through the NL playoffs, the Dodgers are headed to the World Series for the 23rd time in franchise history, including 14 pennants since moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Only the Yankees, last year's opponent, have made more appearances in the Fall Classic (41).
Los Angeles will have a week off before the World Series begins next Friday, either in Toronto or at Dodger Stadium against Seattle. The Mariners beat the Blue Jays 6-2 earlier Friday to take a 3-2 lead in the ALCS, which continues Sunday at Rogers Centre.
Tyler Glasnow #31 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates in the clubhouse after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 in game four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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The Dodgers had never swept an NLCS in 16 previous appearances, but they became only the fifth team to sweep this series while thoroughly dominating a Milwaukee club that led the major leagues with 97 wins during the season. Los Angeles is the first team to sweep a best-of-seven postseason series since 2022, and the first to sweep an NLCS since Washington in 2019.
"Before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball," Roberts shouted to the crowd during the on-field celebration. "Let's get four more wins and really ruin baseball!"
The NL Central champion Brewers were eliminated by the Dodgers for the third time during their current stretch of seven playoff appearances in eight years. Even after setting a franchise record for wins this season, Milwaukee is still waiting for its first World Series appearance since 1982.
"We were part of tonight an iconic, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "I don't think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers."
The Brewers had never been swept in a playoff series longer than a best-of-three, but their bats fell silent in the NLCS against the Dodgers' brilliant starting rotation. Los Angeles' four starters combined to pitch 28 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed and 35 strikeouts.
"I really think that to beat us four games in a row, you've got to do a lot of things right," outfielder Blake Perkins said. "Some things had to go their way that didn't go our way. We hit a lot of balls at people. But either way, Ohtani did great today. Is he the greatest player ever? I don't know. But he sure seemed like it tonight."
The Dodgers added two more runs in the first after Ohtani's tone-setting homer, with Mookie Betts and Will Smith both singling and scoring.
Jackson Chourio doubled leading off the fourth for Milwaukee's first hit, but Ohtani stranded him.
Struggling Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen allowed two more baserunners in the eighth, and Caleb Durbin scored when Brice Turang beat out his potential double-play grounder before Anthony Banda ended the inning.
Roki Sasaki pitched the ninth in the latest successful relief outing for the Dodgers' unlikely rookie closer.
Logan Cattaneo, 6, poses for a photo with the Dodgers mascot during Dodgers Dreamteam PlayerFest at Dodgers Stadium in 2024.
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Topline:
The Dodgers Foundation says it's expanding Dodgers Dreamteam, its program for underserved youth. The foundation says the program will be able to serve 17,000 kids this year, 2,000 more than last year.
Why it matters: Now in its 13th season, the program connects underserved youth with opportunities to play baseball and softball and provides participants with free uniforms and access to baseball equipment. It also offers training for coaches in positive youth development practices, as well as wraparound services for participant families like college workshops, career panels, literacy resources and scholarship opportunities.
How to sign up: For more information and to sign up, click here.
An aerial view of snow-capped trees after a winter snowstorm near Soda Springs on Feb. 20, 2026.
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Stephen Lam, San Francisco Chronicle
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Topline:
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season. It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
What happened? Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
Why it matters: Experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains. State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs. “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.
It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.
On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.
“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”
Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.
“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”
‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’
In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.
“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”
Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.
“That means we can get more work done,” he said.
It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.
Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.
“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”
‘A haystack fire’
Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.
Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”
“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.
Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.
But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.
How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.
“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
What we know: The city is in the very early stages of planning how to transform the 192 acres into a park. The preliminary report shows some potential amenities of the park, such as gardens, biking trails, art galleries, a community center and much more.
Background: After a long legal battle between the city and the Federal Aviation Administration, a settlement was reached that ruled that the city could close the more than 100-year-old airport. The park was controversial among residents because of air quality and noise concerns, and was the subject of many legal battles in recent decades.
What’s next? The city wants to hear from residents. You’re encouraged to review the framework and fill out this survey. Feedback will be accepted until April 26.
Elly Yu
typically reports on early childhood issues and from time to time other general news.
Published April 1, 2026 1:41 PM
Thousands of immigrants, including refugees and asylees, in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
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Topline:
Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
What’s new: The changes apply to certain immigrants who are here lawfully, including refugees and asylees. It also applies to people from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special visas for helping the U.S. military overseas.
Why now: The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.
What’s next: Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.
The changes remove eligibility for certain noncitizens, including people with refugee status and victims of trafficking. It also applies to immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special immigrant visas for helping the U.S. government overseas.
”These are folks … many of whom have large families that we have a commitment to as a country because we welcomed them and invited them here to find a place of refuge,” said Cambria Tortorelli, president of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a refugee resettlement agency. “They’re authorized to work and they’ve been brought here by the U.S. government.”
The federal spending bill, H.R. 1, made sweeping cuts to social safety net programs, including food assistance and Medicaid. In signing the bill, President Donald Trump said the changes were delivering on his campaign promises of “America first.”
Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. The state estimates about 72,000 immigrants with lawful presence will be affected across California.
CalFresh is the state’s version of the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Undocumented immigrants have not been eligible to receive CalFresh benefits.
State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
Who the changes apply to:
Asylees
Refugees
Parolees (unless they are Cuban and Haitian entrants)
Individuals with deportation or removal withheld
Conditional entrants
Victims of trafficking
Battered noncitizens
Iraqi or Afghan with special immigrant visas (SIV) who are not lawful permanent residents (LPR)
Certain Afghan Nationals granted parole between July 31, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2023
Certain Ukrainian Nationals granted parole between Feb. 24, 2022, and Sep. 30, 2024
