The Milwaukee Brewers are headed to the 2026 World Series after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. The franchise, which has never won an MLB title, will be making its first appearance in the Fall Classic since 1982.
Thursday’s result, a 6-4 Brewers victory in Game 4, ended the Dodgers’ hopes of earning dynasty status. Los Angeles entered the postseason as two-time defending champions and a third straight would have put them in rare air — the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics the only other teams to accomplish such a feat.
Milwaukee’s bullpen and timely hitting were key to jumping to a 3-0 lead in the NLCS. In Game 1, star Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run over 4.1 innings but had incredible help once the Brewers’ bullpen came on. Four pitchers — DL Hall, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Trevor Megill — combined to give up two hits and zero runs to preserve a 2-1 victory.
Relievers once again helped Milwaukee in Game 2 after starter Logan Henderson struggled early. Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Uribe and Ashby combined to retire the last 15 Dodgers batters in order in a 7-4 win.
In Game 3, rookie starter Robert Gasser went to Dodger Stadium and pitched five innings of scoreless baseball. Back-to-back home runs by Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell in the seventh inning gave the Brewers a lead they would not relinquish.
“All three games we’ve played so far, and hopefully that continues, where just every time they score, we come back and score,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “That’s not easy to do in baseball.”
The Brewers were the best team in baseball this season, leading MLB with 103 wins. Over 162 games, they had the second-best ERA in the league (3.23) and have dropped that number to just 1.74 in the postseason.
While Milwaukee does not boast the star power of the Dodgers, they have the National League Cy Young favorite in Misiorowski and a balanced lineup of hitters. Catcher William Contreras has been on fire in the playoffs with three home runs, four walks and five RBI while batting .370. Outfielder Jackson Chourio leads the team with seven home runs.
The Brewers will face the winner of the ALCS — the Cleveland Guardians lead the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 in the series — in the World Series, which begins next Friday in Milwaukee.