Brewers Finish the Sweep: Milwaukee Stuns the Dodgers and Returns to the World Series After 44 Years
A 6-4 Game 4 comeback from an early 4-0 hole completed a 4-0 NLCS sweep — Milwaukee's first pennant since 1982, sealed by MVP Jake Bauers, who played the series through a broken toe.
- Milwaukee clinched the NLCS with a 6-4 Game 4 comeback win, erasing an early 4-0 deficit and completing a 4-0 sweep of the Dodgers. m:…5094
- The Brewers are the first team in MLB history to sweep a postseason opponent it was swept by the previous year, and reached their first World Series since 1982. m:…5094
- Jake Bauers was named NLCS MVP after recording six RBIs — the first Brewers player to win the LCS MVP award. m:…9229
- Bauers played the NLCS with a broken toe and shin splints. m:…9229
- Shohei Ohtani homered for the first time in two months in Game 4 — a 428-foot blast at 113.1 mph off the bat — but the Dodgers still lost 6-4. m:…8067
- The World Series is scheduled to begin October 23; the Brewers' opponent (Rays or Guardians) remains to be determined. m:…5094
The comeback
The Brewers clinched the National League pennant with a 6-4 comeback victory in Game 4, erasing an early 4-0 deficit against the Dodgers. Per the Brewers' official recap, the four-run comeback tied the record for the largest comeback in an LCS-clinching game in MLB history — the biggest possible stage for a rally. m:…5094
Reliever Aaron Ashby recorded the final nine outs of Game 4, closing out the sweep. The Brewers are the first team in MLB history to sweep an opponent in the postseason after being swept by them the previous year — the 4-0 result flipped last October, when the Dodgers swept Milwaukee. m:…5094
A historic reversal
Milwaukee became the first team in MLB history to sweep an opponent in the postseason after being swept by that same team in the previous year's playoffs, according to the Brewers' recap. The sweep ended the Dodgers' three-peat bid — Los Angeles had arrived in October as the two-time defending champion, and the series was supposed to be their coronation march. m:…5094
The pennant sends Milwaukee to the World Series for the first time since 1982, ending a 44-year drought. The Brewers' World Series opponent — the Rays or the Guardians — remains to be determined, with the Fall Classic scheduled to begin October 23. Either way, Milwaukee will play the underdog role it has worn comfortably all month. m:…5094
Bauers' series
Jake Bauers was named NLCS MVP after driving in six RBIs. He is the first Brewers player to win the LCS MVP award. His signature moments included a 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 and an 11-pitch two-run home run against Blake Snell in Game 3 — the kind of grinding at-bats that define October. m:…9229
He did it while playing with a broken toe and shin splints, on top of a 26-homer, 86-RBI regular season. Bauers made his major league debut with Tampa Bay in 2018 and played for Cleveland in 2019 and 2021 — a long road to an October MVP. m:…9229
Bauers himself kept the lens on process over outcome: "After that, it's all about just letting it happen." The implication for the World Series is straightforward — the Brewers' October has been built on exactly the kind of unglamorous at-bats that don't show up in highlight packages. m:…9229
The Dodgers' side
The Dodgers' final stand still produced the series' most electric individual moment. Shohei Ohtani homered for the first time in two months — a 428-foot blast at 113.1 mph exit velocity, ending a career-long streak of 115 plate appearances without a home run. Ohtani had last gone deep on August 18 and was playing through right biceps and left knee injuries. Roberts had reinstated him to the leadoff spot after a strong Game 3, which included a single with a 113.5 mph exit velocity. It was not enough: Milwaukee won 6-4 anyway, and the homer became a footnote in a sweep. m:…8067 m:…5094
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered no excuses for the sweep: "At the end of the day, we got beat" The defeat closed out a postseason in which the two-time champions never solved Milwaukee's bullpen or its timing — and in which the team that had swept the Brewers a year earlier got swept itself. History will remember the symmetry. m:…5094
What is still unresolved
- The Brewers' World Series opponent (Rays or Guardians) remains to be determined.
- How the Dodgers respond to a sweep after back-to-back championships — roster decisions and offseason direction were not addressed in the recaps.
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