The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers faced off in game four of the National League Championship Series on Oct. 17, with the Dodgers leading the series 3-0. The Dodgers were looking to make it back to the World Series for the second time in a row and build on what could become baseball’s modern dynasty.

For the Dodgers, it was Shohei Ohtani who got to start the game, making it his first playoff start at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani wasted no time getting settled in striking out the side in the first inning. For the Brewers, José Quintana would try to save their season. The first batter Quintana faced was Ohtani, who would hit a leadoff homerun right after striking out the side. 

Tommy Edman would later single in the inning to bring home Mookie Betts to score the Dodgers’ second run. In the bottom of the fourth, Ohtani did it again with another homerun to put the Dodgers up 4-0. He was cruising on the mound and was taken out after six innings of shutout baseball with 10 strikeouts. 

The night wasn’t done for Ohtani, however, because he would then hit his third home run of the game to make it 5-0. The Dodgers would close it out in the ninth and are now heading back to the World Series.

For the Brewers, who were the best team in baseball during the regular season, this Dodgers team was just too much to handle. Throughout this whole series, the bats for the Brewers just weren’t there, and this amazing Dodgers pitching staff pitched quite the series. 

It seemed as though the Brewers ran out of gas. For the Dodgers, it was an up-and-down regular season. They dealt with a lot of injuries but pushed through and got to October. They have been unbeatable, only losing one game so far this postseason, and they look primed to be the first team to win back-to-back World Series since the Yankees did it back in 2000.

Are the Dodgers ruining baseball? That’s a question that has been going around a lot these past few days, and to many fans that question doesn’t make a lot of sense. 

The Dodgers have one of the highest payrolls in baseball, second only to the New York Mets, but this does not make the argument for the Dodgers ruining baseball. 

The Yankees, who are in third place, lost in the division series this year and the Mets, who are first, didn’t even make the playoffs. This goes to show that payroll doesn’t make a winner. 

It’s the product that you make with said payroll that makes a winner. The Dodgers have built one of the most complete teams in baseball, filling almost every hole a team could possibly have. 

These small market teams have billion-dollar owners who could spend but refuse to.  The Dodgers are not ruining baseball; they are showing people how to play the game.