A night earlier, he was stranded in the on-deck circle on an astonishing triple play, pushing the Dodgers’ division title hopes to the limit.

On a raucous Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, Shohei Ohtani finally stepped up to the plate.

And promptly stomped all but the last breath out of the San Diego Padres.

Triple play, shriple play, memories of the incredible ending the night before were smothered by the giant that is Ohtani, whose one graceful walk followed by two deafening hits carried the Dodgers to both a 4-3 victory over the Padres and the abyss of the brought defeat. their 11th National League West championship in 12 years.

shouts Dodgers ‘designed hitter’ Shohei Ohtani 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 fully available in the final game of the regular season at Chavez Ravine on Thursday night.

If the Dodgers and starter Walker Buehler put away the pesky Padres one last time, the game will end with a dogpile on the mound and champagne in the clubhouse. If the Padres and Joe Musgrove manage to survive, the Dodgers will have to wait for an almost certain win this weekend in Denver against the gruesome Rockies.

Regardless, Wednesday’s win all but assured them the impressive crown and an important bye week.

And either way, you can bet Ohtani will be in the thick of it.

He’s a one-man meeting. He is a sole proprietorship. He’s a one-man box score. Face it, in some ways he’s been a one-man team lately.

He’s 17-to-his-last-24. He has 15 RBIs in his last six games. He shouts line drives and bellows celebratory gestures. His hands pointed to the sky, his fists waving through the night and a smile as big as his hacks.

“He’s the best player in baseball, you never think he’s going to go out,” teammate Max Muncy said, still wide-eyed late Wednesday night. “Every time he steps in the box, you wait for something incredible to happen. He doesn’t often disappoint.”

The only way to stop him, it seems, is to not let him get into that box, which is exactly what happened less than 24 hours earlier.

In the ninth inning Tuesday night, Ohtani stood ominously in the on-deck circle, seemingly ready to execute a game-changing swing when the Padres left him there with a game-ending triple play to ensure a 4-2 victory, bringing them to within two games of the Dodgers with four games remaining.

Stunned silence. Questions galore. Criticism ripples on. Panic everywhere.

Then, first thing Wednesday night, the leadoff that hit Ohtani stepped from the on-deck circle into the batter’s box and everything changed.

Apparently he spooked Padres starter Dylan Cease, who walked him. Ohtani then went to second on a wild pitch and eventually scored the Dodgers’ first run on Teoscar Hernández’s two-out single.

Dodgers design hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates in the 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 guy is so good that he can change the game even with the bat on his shoulder.

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

It got 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 this evening the stadium shook.

“You just want to get it out there with some guys on base, and then you feel like you’re in a good spot,” said Flaherty, who was saved by Ohtani after allowing three runs in a bumpy five innings.

The savior was not ready yet. Two innings later, with the game tied again, Ohtani ripped a single to right field to score the go-ahead and eventual winning run.

While standing on first base, he shouted at the dugout and gestured wildly with his gigantic arms. This was the visibly passionate Ohtani you rarely saw. This was Ohtani on the eve of October.

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

Fans aren’t the only ones who get inspired. On the Dodger bench, his teammates celebrated with him.

“We have a lot of guys here with a lot of postseason experience, it’s not lost on us what it means, but when you have guys who haven’t been there and you see the emotion come out in them, that’s definitely the case. it makes you excited,” Muncy said.

Afterwards, Ohtani had calmed down considerably and held his post-match press conference with his cap tipped back and a relaxed grin.

I asked him if he had ever felt so good on the board before. What a stupid question. Of course he did.

“I think I’ve had this feeling (before),” he said in Japanese. “But as the years have gone by, I think my hitting technique has improved, as has my physicality. I think my skills gradually took shape.”

He was asked if his first pennant race energized him. He admitted the wonderfully obvious: as the games have gotten bigger, his concentration has increased.

“That’s quite something,” he said. “I think the excitement of the fans and the spirit of the team are high. I think those are ingredients to increase focus.”

Finally, he was asked if he was excited about potentially spraying champagne for the first time in his seven-year Major League career.

“That’s why we’ve been working hard so far,” he said. “I think it would be special if we could do that in a home game tomorrow.”

However they do it, we’re guessing they won’t do it without their rarest, unique, never-before-seen baseball player.

Shohei Ohtani, a one-man triple play.