Brewers sweep Dodgers to reach World Series for first time since 1982

The Milwaukee Brewers are headed to the 2026 World Series after they swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. The franchise, which has never won an MLB title, will be making its first appearance in the Fall Classic since 1982.

Thursday’s result, a 6-4 Brewers victory in Game 4, ended the Dodgers’ hopes of earning dynasty status. Los Angeles entered the postseason as two-time defending champions, and a third straight title would have put it in rare air — the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics the only other teams to have accomplished such a feat.

“We’re just happy for our fans and everybody that has been part of this organization and stuck with us over the years,” Brewers star Christian Yelich said on the Fox broadcast after the game. “We’ve been so close to this point so many times. To finally break through is a credit to our guys, our team. They stuck together and battled. We got down there early tonight, and we were like: ‘It’s going to be a great story when we win this. Stay together and start chipping away.’ And it’s exactly what they did.”

The Dodgers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning Thursday. Kyle Tucker scored on an Andy Pages RBI single before superstar Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run home run 428 feet into the right-center field bleachers. But the Brewers would not go away.

Jake Bauers hit a ground-rule double in the fourth inning, scoring William Contreras and Brice Turang to make it 4-2. In the fifth, David Hamilton singled to center, scoring Sal Frelick. Later in the inning, Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia walked in the tying run (credited to starter Tyler Glasnow for having initially loaded the bases).

The Brewers took a 5-4 lead on Garrett Mitchell’s solo home run in the sixth inning and added an insurance run in the ninth on Hamilton’s bomb.

“It’s absolutely surreal,” Mitchell said on the Fox broadcast after the game. “I don’t really got words. I’m just so proud of our team. To go down four [runs] really early, and you talk about the battle-tested Brewers, man. We got down early, and the belief in that dugout got stronger and stronger, and we fought our butts off and got back in here. It was incredible.”

Milwaukee’s bullpen and timely hitting were key to the Brewers’ jumping to a 3-0 lead in the NLCS. In Game 1, star Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run over 4.1 innings but had incredible help once the Brewers’ bullpen came on. Four pitchers — DL Hall, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill — combined to give up two hits and no runs to preserve a 2-1 victory.

Relievers once again helped Milwaukee in Game 2 after starter Logan Henderson struggled early. Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Uribe and Ashby combined to retire the last 15 Dodgers batters in order in a 7-4 win.

In Game 3, rookie starter Robert Gasser went to Dodger Stadium and pitched five innings of scoreless baseball. Back-to-back home runs by Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell in the seventh inning gave the Brewers a lead they would not relinquish.

The Brewers were the best team in baseball this season, leading MLB with 103 wins. Over 162 games, they had the best ERA in the National League (3.23) and have dropped that number to just 1.74 in the postseason.

While Milwaukee does not boast the star power of the Dodgers, it has the National League Cy Young favorite in Misiorowski and a balanced lineup of hitters. Catcher William Contreras has been on fire in the playoffs, with three home runs, four walks and five RBIs while batting .370. Outfielder Jackson Chourio leads the team with seven home runs.

The Dodgers “may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we got a bunch of gamers,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after the win. “And the gamers won this week.”

The Brewers will face the winner of the ALCS — the Cleveland Guardians lead the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 in the series — in the World Series, which begins next Friday in Milwaukee.