Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani explained why it was important to pitch six innings in a start before October.

Ohtani pumped his fist coming off the mound to end the fifth, after James McCann tapped a ball in front of Ohtani to start an inning-ending double play. Then Ohtani did something he hasn’t done in a Dodgers uniform: threw a pitch in the sixth inning.

Shohei Ohtani launched his 53rd home run to tie for the National League lead, and the Los Angeles Dodgers erased an early four-run deficit in a 7-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants.