'I was a little nervous' - Shohei Ohtani gets honest after dominating Phillies hitters in his first playoff pitching appearance

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani made his first postseason start of his career in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

The three-time MVP had said there would be some nerves before taking the mound and a hostile crowd at Citizens Bank Park didn't help it cause. He ran into trouble in the second inning, conceding a two-run triple to J.T. Realmuto before Harrison Bader made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly.

However, Ohtani settled after the rough frame and didn't allow any hits in the next four innings, ending his night with six innings, conceding three earned runs over three hits and nine strikeouts.

Following the game, the three-time MVP reflected on his first postseason start:

"I was a little nervous imagining myself out there on the mound," Ohtani said through his interpreter Will Ireton. "But once I was on the mound and on the field, that went away, and it was really me focusing."

While Ohtani dominated from the mound after his shaky start, the NL MVP favorite failed to have any impact with the bat, going 0-for-4 with a walk.

Shohei Ohtani and Co. silence hostile Phillies crowd with late comeback

While the Dodgers players got a hostile reception from the Phillies crowd in the ALDS opener, Teoscar Hernandez silenced them with his three-run home run in the seventh inning.

"Something's going to happen in this game that the crowd's gonna go wild, but that doesn't matter," Max Muncy said. "What matters is what happens at the end, and when we silence the crowd, it's gonna be an amazing feeling."

The Dodgers winning the first game of the series bodes well for their World Series defense, as the teams winning Game 1 of the division series on the road have progressed to the championship series 34 of 46 times.