A year ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the National League Championship Series.
On Thursday night, at Dodger Stadium, the Brewers returned the favor. Their 6-4 win in Game 4 finished a four-game sweep and sent Milwaukee to its first World Series since 1982.
According to MLB, no team had ever swept the same opponent that swept it the postseason before.
Down 4-0
It did not start like a clincher.
In the second inning, Andy Pages singled in a run and Shohei Ohtani followed with a three-run homer, his first of the postseason. The two-time defending champions led 4-0. Tyler Glasnow retired the first 10 Brewers he faced.
Then it turned.
Fourth inning: Brice Turang walked. William Contreras hit a ground-rule double. Jake Bauers hit another to score them both. 4-2.
Fifth inning: The Dodgers' pitchers walked four batters and the Brewers stole two bases. David Hamilton singled in Sal Frelick and chased Glasnow, and Bauers drew a bases-loaded walk. 4-4.
Sixth inning: Garrett Mitchell fell behind Tanner Scott 0-2, then homered to lead off the inning. 5-4. JoJo Romero struck out Max Muncy to strand the tying run at third.
Seventh through ninth: Aaron Ashby got the last nine outs, including Ohtani on strikes.
Ninth inning: David Hamilton, batting ninth, homered off Edwin Díaz with two outs. 6-4.
Jackson Chourio caught the final out on the left-field warning track. "The Brewers win the pennant!" called Brewers broadcaster Jeff Levering. "Oh my God, the Brewers win the pennant!"
How they did it
The Dodgers had the bigger names. Milwaukee had the better series.
The Brewers outhomered the Dodgers 7-1 over four games. They won 6-2 in Game 3, with Mitchell homering then too. And they did it the way they won a franchise-record 103 games in the regular season: patient at-bats, pressure on the bases and a bullpen that did not crack.
Jake Bauers, 30, a first baseman in the middle of a breakout year, was named NLCS MVP.
"This team's different than last year's team," said captain Christian Yelich, who was there for the 2025 sweep. Outfielder Sal Frelick described the approach more vividly: "dragging pitchers to hell."
What it ends, and what it starts
For the Dodgers, it ends a run at a third straight championship. A roster with Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker went out without winning a game.
For Milwaukee, it ends 44 years of waiting. The only other Brewers pennant came in 1982, with "Harvey's Wallbangers," who lost the World Series to St. Louis in seven games. The franchise has never won a World Series.
They will open at home. Game 1 is Friday, October 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX. The American League champion has not yet been decided.
Published Saturday, October 17, 2026. Play-by-play from NBC Los Angeles and the AP; quotes and series records from MLB.com.
