NEW YORK -- Breaking news: Shohei Ohtani got a hit with nobody on base.

A big one.

Silencing the noise about his strange splits to start this postseason -- 7-for-9 with runners on base and 0-for-22 with 11 strikeouts with the bases empty through Game 3 of the National League Championship Series -- Ohtani led off the Dodgers¡¯ 10-2 win in Game 4 with a laser-beam homer to right-center field for a quick lead.

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¡°I can¡¯t even hit the ball that hard

with an aluminum bat, and Shohei is doing it with [wood],¡± said Freddie Freeman. ¡°It¡¯s just amazing.¡±

The seventh leadoff home run in Dodgers postseason history was a no-doubter off Mets lefty Jose Quintana. It sailed a Statcast-projected 422 feet after leaving Ohtani¡¯s bat at 117.8 mph, making it the third-hardest homer in the postseason since Statcast began tracking in 2015.

1. Kyle Schwarber, 2022 NLCS G1: 119.7 mph
2. Giancarlo Stanton, 2020 ALDS G2: 118.3 mph
3. Ohtani, 2024 NLCS G4: 117.8 mph

Here are the Dodgers¡¯ other leadoff homers in the postseason:

David Freese (2): 2018 NLCS G6, 2018 WS G5
Joc Pederson: 2018 NLDS G1
Chris Taylor: 2017 World Series G1
Carl Crawford: 2013 NLDS G4
Davey Lopes: 1978 World Series G6

For the Mets, it meant a deficit two pitches into the night.

¡°There's not any ballparks that are going to hold that,¡± Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. ¡°He's pretty special, and I think the whole game knows that by now."

¡°When he goes out there, first at-bat of the game, and hits it like that, obviously it's a good feeling for them,¡± said Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. ¡°We knew that wasn't going to beat us, but we couldn't just stop it.¡±

For Ohtani, it was picking up where he left off in Game 3, with a moonshot of a three-run homer that sailed over the right-field foul pole in the eighth inning.

¡°I'm excited for him. I think the moment isn't too big,¡± Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said going into Game 4. ¡°I think that you've seen other superstars in years past, their first postseason, you could see them trying too hard. I don't see that with Shohei. But I will say that that homer [Wednesday] night was really good to see for him.

¡°I don't think there's a hitter that says when runners are in scoring position that they're not more focused. I think that is a part of it. But I still like him in any spot.¡±

That includes with the bases empty or runners aboard.

¡°I think it was bigger for Sho, just getting a hit with no one on base. It¡¯s pretty wild numbers,¡± said Max Muncy. ¡°But it was a big start for us. He got a good pitch to hit, didn¡¯t miss it, and it definitely electrified us.¡±

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The Mets were done with the electrifying. Ohtani walked in each of his next three plate appearances. He¡¯s walked seven times in 21 plate appearances this series and -- small sample alert -- has a 1.238 OPS in the NLCS after a .623 OPS in the NL Division Series against the Padres.

¡°Obviously, when Shohei hits a ball hard, you don¡¯t want to get beat by Shohei again,¡± said Teoscar Hern¨¢ndez. ¡°He knows it.¡±

Said Ohtani, through interpreter Will Ireton: ¡°The focus has been pretty much the same regardless of the situation if there's runners on or not. Kind of stick to the same plan, the same approach.¡±

When he connected, Ohtani turned and pointed emphatically to the Dodgers' dugout. What was that about?

¡°Freddie talked to me to make sure that I joined the party earlier than later,¡± Ohtani said. ¡°So I was able to do that this time in my first at-bat. That was something that we talked about.¡±