LOS ANGELES – Two-way star Shohei Ohtani blasted his 51st home run Wednesday, going deep in back-to-back games as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 to avoid a series sweep.

An eighth-inning solo shot to right-center off a 2-2 sweeper from Jesus Luzardo (14-7) saw Ohtani move within two of the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber, who leads the National League home run race, after Schwarber went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts at Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers starter Blake Snell (5-4) threw seven scoreless innings on two hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts in a 112-pitch effort.

Ohtani, who hit 54 homers last season, has 10 games left in this year’s regular season.

In Pittsburgh, the Chicago Cubs secured their first playoff spot in five years after beating the Pirates 8-4.

Seiya Suzuki, playing for the first time in six games, went hitless in his three at-bats upon his return from illness as the Cubs won their fourth straight game.

“We’ve come this far helping each other. I’m enjoying it,” said Suzuki, who has 27 homers and 91 RBIs — both the most by a Japanese right-handed batter this season — although his form has dipped in the second half of the year.

Left-hander Shota Imanaga, 9-7 this season with a 3.29 ERA, joined a champaign fight and hoped to have more of them with the team.

“I’ve done it before at the World Baseball Classic (after winning with Japan), but the amount of champagne here is off the charts,” he said. “I want more of these until we win the World Series.”