The Milwaukee Brewers advanced to their first World Series in 44 years on Thursday with a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The win completed a four-game sweep of the National League Championship Series.
Jake Bauers started the Milwaukee comeback with a two-run double. Garrett Mitchell added a go-ahead home run, avenging last season when the Dodgers swept Milwaukee out of the same stage.
"We got down early tonight and we were like, it’s going to be a great story," said Brewers veteran Christian Yelich. "We’re going to come back and win this. Like, stay together, start chipping away. And that’s exactly what they did."
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts conceded that his squad had been thoroughly defeated across the series. The Dodgers won the Major League Baseball championships in 2024 and 2025.
"At the end of the day, we got beat," Roberts said. "We got outplayed in all facets. Those guys played flawless. Defensively they pitched better than we did, they hit better than we did, they slugged more than we did. You’ve got to sometimes just tip your cap."
Shohei Ohtani returned to the leadoff spot for Los Angeles and hit a three-run home run in the second inning. Andy Pages had driven in the opening run for a 4-0 advantage, but Ohtani also struck out three times while managing knee and biceps discomfort.
Milwaukee chipped away in the fourth inning when Bauers hit a two-run ground-rule double off Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow. David Hamilton narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the fifth inning with an RBI single, ending Glasnow’s night on the mound.
Reliever Evan Phillips loaded the bases with two outs by issuing a pair of walks. Alex Vesia replaced Phillips and walked Bauers on four pitches to tie the game at 4-4.
Mitchell put the Brewers ahead for good in the sixth inning by greeting reliever Tanner Scott with a leadoff home run. Hamilton secured the final score in the ninth inning with a solo home run against Edwin Diaz.
Four Milwaukee pitchers combined to shut out the Dodgers over the final seven innings during a bullpen game guided by catcher William Contreras. Aaron Ashby pitched the final three frames to earn his second save of the postseason.
"Playing with that chip on our shoulder," Ashby said. "You don’t ever know what to expect going into a series like that last year. You don’t know how bad it can be, and then it was as bad as it was. And we came out and we survived, and we came back this year, and those guys played their tails off."
The Brewers face either the Tampa Bay Rays or the Cleveland Guardians in the World Series.
