Brewers Sweep Dodgers to Reach First World Series Since 1982
The Milwaukee Brewers are going to the World Series for the first time since 1982.
They beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 in Game 4 on Oct. 15, 2026, to sweep the National League Championship Series in four straight games. The NLCS is the best-of-seven series that decides the National League pennant and a trip to the World Series. A sweep means a 4-0 win. MLB.com
It was 4-0 early. Then Milwaukee answered.
The Brewers scored six unanswered runs to close the game, coming from four runs down to win, according to MLB.com. Shohei Ohtani homered for Los Angeles in the loss. Milwaukee tied the game on a bases-loaded walk, then took the lead for good on a sixth-inning solo homer by Garrett Mitchell. Aaron Ashby pitched the final three innings for the save, a three-inning save that closed the series.
The central figure was Jake Bauers. He hit a fourth-inning double off Tyler Glasnow and then drew a fifth-inning walk with the bases loaded to tie the game. That followed a two-run ground-rule double on the same night, a hit that bounces over the outfield wall and counts automatically for two bases. David Hamilton also homered for Milwaukee on Oct. 15. The team was presented with the National League Championship Trophy that night.
Bauers was named the MVP of the series, the award for its most valuable player. His at-bats told the story. In Game 2, he drew a 12-pitch walk against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto that sparked a rally. In Game 3, he fought Blake Snell for 11 pitches and ended it with a home run. In Game 4, he hurt Los Angeles again with the bat and the eye. The Guardian
What makes this stand out is where Bauers started the year. He had paused his retirement and returned for the 2026 season because he needed health insurance for his soon-to-be newborn.
Milwaukee won a franchise-best 103 games in the regular season. The numbers show the sweep also flipped recent history. Milwaukee became the first team to avenge an NLCS sweep by sweeping that same team the very next season. The Dodgers entered 2026 aiming to become the first National League team to win three straight World Series titles. They were the two-time defending champions when Milwaukee ended that run.
Manager Pat Murphy put it simply after the clincher: “They got a bunch of Hall of Famers. We got a bunch of gamers.”
Los Angeles still won 100 games in 2026. The record had a split. The Dodgers went 38-37 against teams above .500. They also hit into 128 double plays, the most in the majors, a double play being two outs on one batted ball. Ohtani, the two-way star who hits and pitches, stopped pitching in the latter part of the season due to injuries. He was dropped to sixth in the batting order for Game 3, a move down from the usual top spots where a team’s best hitters bat.
