Brewers sweep Dodgers 4-0 in NLCS, reaching first World Series in 44 years

Brewers complete the sweep and return to the World Series

On Thursday, 15 October, the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, completing a 4-0 sweep. The result sends Milwaukee to the World Series for the first time since 1982, when it lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Only the Seattle Mariners and the Pittsburgh Pirates have longer active droughts without a World Series appearance, with the Mariners never having won a pennant and the Pirates last reaching the Series in 1979. The Brewers will face either the Cleveland Guardians or the Tampa Bay Rays, and Cleveland led that American League series 2-1 at the time of reporting. Milwaukee closed the regular season with 103 wins, while the Dodgers, two-time defending champions, were eliminated.

Ohtani's homer, then a Brewers comeback

The Brewers had trailed in every game of the series but had never been down by four runs until Thursday. Ohtani, back in the leadoff spot, hit a three-run homer off Dustin May in the second inning to put the Dodgers up 4-0. It was his first home run since 18 August, traveling 428 feet with an exit velocity of 113.1 mph. Milwaukee answered by the middle of the fifth, tying the score 4-4 with five walks, two doubles, a single and two stolen bases. In the sixth, Garrett Mitchell hit a leadoff homer off Tanner Scott, the Dodgers' fifth pitcher, and Milwaukee was suddenly 12 outs from the pennant.

The Dodgers tried to double their way back in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but went 0 for 6 with a sacrifice bunt after those doubles. Jo Jo Romero and Aaron Ashby held the lead by working two scoreless innings apiece, and Ashby added another in the ninth. It was the first time the Dodgers had blown a four-run lead in a postseason elimination game.

Ohtani's health and the Dodgers' offseason questions

The loss leaves open questions about how the Dodgers managed Ohtani through a season of injuries. He had an MRI on his left knee in June, and his right biceps flared up several times, forcing him out of a 3 July game early. Two days before Game 4, Ohtani met manager Dave Roberts, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes, and the team wanted to confirm he was healthy enough to play. Ohtani said he was not hitting because of his symptoms, and he took responsibility for the injuries.

The symptoms shouldn't be the reason why I can't hit, and even if the injuries happen by accident, I take full responsibility.

Roberts had said in July that the priority was clear. He was blunt about the goal for the season.

Nothing is gonna come in front of being healthy for October.

How the Brewers built the series

The Brewers hit the fewest home runs in the National League during the regular season, but they hit seven in this series while holding the Dodgers to one. After Game 3 on Wednesday, 14 October, they had outhomered their postseason opponents 8-2, and their pitching staff had a 1.74 postseason ERA. Outfielder Sal Frelick described the team's approach at the plate.

It's not result-oriented, it's just at-bat oriented.

What comes next

Milwaukee needs four more wins to claim its first title, and its World Series opponent is still to be decided. The sweep ended the Dodgers' hopes of a third straight trip to the final.