LOS ANGELES, California — The Milwaukee Brewers rallied from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Thursday night, completing a four-game sweep of the National League Championship Series and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1982, according to the Associated Press and Reuters.
Los Angeles looked in control early. Andy Pages drove in a run in the second inning and Shohei Ohtani followed with a three-run home run, his first home run of this postseason, to put the defending champions ahead 4-0, according to game reports.
Milwaukee chipped away rather than panicking. Jake Bauers drove in two runs in the fourth inning, the Brewers tied the game in the fifth with a run-scoring hit and a bases-loaded walk, and Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth, according to Reuters. David Hamilton added a solo home run in the ninth for a two-run cushion.
The Brewers’ bullpen held the Dodgers scoreless over the final seven innings, repeatedly stranding the potential tying run in scoring position in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, according to game reports. Four Milwaukee pitchers combined in a planned bullpen game, with Aaron Ashby recording the final outs.
Bauers was named Most Valuable Player of the series, according to Reuters. Team leaders described the comeback as in keeping with a season in which Milwaukee posted the best regular-season record in baseball, which now gives the Brewers home-field advantage in the World Series.
The sweep carries a historical twist. A year ago, Los Angeles swept Milwaukee out of the same round. According to the Associated Press, Milwaukee is the first club to sweep a postseason series against the same opponent that swept it the previous postseason. The Dodgers were the two-time defending World Series champions.
Milwaukee’s only previous World Series appearance came in 1982, when the club, then in the American League, lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The franchise has never won the title and is one of a small number of clubs still waiting for a first championship.
The World Series is scheduled to begin on Friday, October 23 in Milwaukee, against the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays, according to Reuters. Cleveland led that series 2-1 after a win on Thursday, according to Reuters, so Milwaukee’s opponent will not be known for several more days.
