Brewers Erase Four-Run Deficit to End Dodgers' Three-Peat Bid

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a four-run lead and a chance to extend their championship defense. The Milwaukee Brewers took both away, rallying for a 6-4 victory Thursday to complete a National League Championship Series sweep and end the Dodgers’ bid for a third consecutive World Series title. Milwaukee is headed to its first World Series since 1982.

Ohtani Put the Dodgers Ahead Early

Facing elimination at Dodger Stadium, manager Dave Roberts returned Shohei Ohtani to the leadoff position. Ohtani delivered a three-run homer in the second inning, helping Los Angeles build a 4-0 advantage. It was his first home run since August 18.

Protecting that lead would have given the Dodgers another opportunity to extend the series. Tarik Skubal was lined up for a potential Game 5, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell available for subsequent games if Los Angeles kept winning.

Milwaukee’s comeback meant none of those assignments would happen. The defending champions had seized control of the game early, but they could not hold it.

Milwaukee Erased the Lead, Then Took Control

William Contreras and Jake Bauers hit consecutive doubles in the fourth inning to cut the deficit in half. In the fifth, David Hamilton’s RBI single and Bauers’ bases-loaded walk brought Milwaukee even.

Garrett Mitchell opened the sixth with a home run off Tanner Scott, giving the Brewers their first lead. Hamilton added another homer in the ninth, extending the advantage to two runs before Milwaukee completed the sweep.

The rally matched the largest comeback in a league championship series clincher, according to MLB.com. A game that appeared headed toward another night of baseball instead ended with the Brewers celebrating a pennant.

The Bullpen Finished a Postseason Reversal

Aaron Ashby recorded the final nine outs without allowing a run. He stranded the tying run in scoring position in both the seventh and eighth innings, protecting the lead through Los Angeles’ remaining opportunities.

The finish reversed a painful recent history. The Dodgers had eliminated Milwaukee three times in the previous decade, including an NLCS sweep a year earlier. The Brewers became the first team to be swept in one postseason and sweep that same opponent in the next, MLB.com reported.

Roberts credited Milwaukee’s execution after the loss.

“We got outplayed in all facets,” he said. “Those guys played flawless - defensively, they pitched better than we did, they hit better than we did, they slugged more than we did.”

Milwaukee Returns to the World Series

This is the Brewers’ first National League pennant. Their only previous World Series appearance came as an American League team in 1982, when they lost a seven-game series to St. Louis.

Manager Pat Murphy framed the victory around how his players performed against an opponent with an accomplished roster.

“They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we’ve got a bunch of gamers,” he said. “And the gamers won this week.”

Milwaukee will host Game 1 at American Family Field on October 23. After eliminating the team that ended their previous season, the Brewers are four wins from the first World Series championship in franchise history.

References: Brewers end Dodgers’ three-peat bid with an NLCS sweep of their own