Manager Pat Murphy and the Milwaukee Brewers are headed to the World Series.
The Brewers advanced to Fall Classic after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday, Oct. 15.
Jake Bauers was named the NLCS MVP after posting an .412 on-base percentage with a home run and six RBIs in four games, including two epic game-changing at-bats.
Milwaukee became the first team in MLB history to sweep a team in the postseason after being swept by the same team the previous year. The Brewers are now just four wins away from winning a title for the franchise.
Here's when the Brewers last appeared in the World Series:
Brewers last World Series appearance
Brewers have not played in the World Series since losing Game 7 to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982.
Then playing in the American League. Brewers dropped the last two games in that series to fall short in the title series.
Did the Brewers ever win a World Series?
The Brewers have not won a World Series in its history. Milwaukee is one of five teams that haven’t won a World Series in MLB history.
Put owner Mark Walter's federal investigations aside; let's ignore the (seemingly) impending lockout as the MLB owners' tense standoff with the players' union over a salary cap doesn't appear to be anywhere close to a resolution. The Dodgers have nine players set to hit free agency this winter and, given that the average age of their lineup is 30.9 years old − the oldest in the big leagues, according to Baseball Reference − the clubhouse might look a bit different come next spring training, whenever that might be.
The Dodgers are old
"When you do think about it, it is special what we have accomplished over the last couple years," Freddie Freeman told reporters before Game 4. "And we still want this to keep going. We know we have a lot left in the tank together. It's a great group of guys, been through a lot, been all over this world together."
Freeman is one of three former MVPs on the Dodgers alongside Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani. He's also 36 years old. Retirement isn't likely this offseason, but he's talked about his baseball mortality before and will enter the final year of the six-year, $162 million contract he signed in 2022. Betts, 33, and Ohtani, 31, are also on the other side of 30. In fact, the only regular fixtures in LA's lineup under 30 years old this season were Kyle Tucker, 29, and Andy Pages, 25.
Free agents
Miguel Rojas' contract expires this winter; he's strongly considering retirement but has definitively said he won't play for any other organization besides the Dodgers at this point in his career. One of the most important figures in the clubhouse, Rojas is a vocal leader and mentor to several of the younger players; when Betts was transitioning to shortstop, it was Rojas who stayed on the field with him every day to take groundballs and give advice to the Gold Glove outfielder. If Rojas does hang up his (often customized) cleats, he'll likely step into some sort of coaching or player development role within the organization.
Kiké Hernández held back tears when addressing reporters after the Dodgers' Game 3 loss on Wednesday.
"We didn’t expect to be in this situation, this position," he said, referring to their 3-0 deficit. "But this one sucks."
Hernández's biggest moments have come in October, but like Rojas, at this point in his career, his biggest contribution is his leadership. He's battled through injuries this year, including offseason elbow surgery that delayed his 2026 debut until May, but this winter Andrew Friedman will need to decide whether Hernández's clubhouse presence justifies his declining bat.
Here's the full list of Dodgers set to be free agents, according to Spotrac:
Tarik Skubal, LHP
Evan Phillips, RHP
Miguel Rojas, IF
Kiké Hernández, UTIL
Alex Vesia, LHP
Kris Bubic, LHP
Blake Treinen, RHP
Brusdar Graterol, RHP
Eric Lauer, LHP
Where does Josue De Paula fit next season?
De Paula was thrust into the big leagues when Ohtani went on the IL in September and was an immediate spark to the Dodgers any time he stepped foot in the batter's box. The 21-year-old's impact popped out on the stat sheet with his 1.081 OPS in a small sample size of 11 games, but it also showed up in the intangibles − his poise, his confidence, and a plate discipline beyond his years.
He made enough of an impression to make the 26-man postseason roster as a lefty bench bat, where he continued to thrive. De Paula didn't register a hit this postseason, but each of his two walks in three plate appearances were in clutch situations that gave the Dodgers a fighting chance late. The moment proved not to be too big for the No. 6-ranked prospect in baseball.
That all begs the question: where does he go next season?
De Paula may have proved that his bat is MLB-ready, but his defense as a corner outfielder is still a work in progress.
"Right now, as we've talked about, we view him as a DH," Friedman said in late September. "I think the improvement that Josue had in the outfield from '24 to '25, to '26 is real and for us, it's about taking another big step going into '27. He's got the tools and the ability to do it."
Every day, both in those two weeks in September and throughout the postseason, De Paula has been spotted working at just that. He's shagging fly balls, taking pointers from manager Dave Roberts, third base coach Dino Ebel, and Betts. He was even spotted taking reps at shortstop at one point during the NLCS. Defense has been De Paula's number one priority, and he's vowed to "shut a lot of people up with my defense."
If he takes that leap by spring, he could potentially force a conversation on where he could fit in on the roster among Tucker and Teoscar Hernández.
The fifth team was the charm for Jake Bauers. Was it ever.
Traded from Tampa Bay, crushed in Cleveland, slugless in Seattle and gone from the Yankees in a New York minute, Bauers loaded up his equipment bag one more time when the Milwaukee Brewers called, a team always seeking improvement on the margins taking a no-risk bet on a player who couldn't stick anywhere.
Yet nearly three years after the Brewers first snagged Bauers from baseball oblivion, they're going to the World Series together - and Bauers is taking the National League Championship Series MVP trophy with him.
Bauers' fantastic postseason did not stop in the decisive Game 4 of the NLCS, as he drove in half the Brewers' runs and got them back in the game with a crucial two-run double in a 6-4 victory at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 15.
The World Series will begin in eight days from American Family Field, the Brewers' first appearance since 1982. It's only slightly more overdue and unlikely than Bauers' journey.
The 31-year-old first baseman has been traded four times, released three times and pondered retirement after his first go-round with the Brewers didn't result in immediate success.
Yet he stuck it out one more year, in part to support his family. And was justly rewarded.
"Somewhere along the way, I chose to be confident," he said in a Fox Sports postgame interview. "I chose to believe in myself."
As did the Brewers. They won a club-record 103 games and Bauers was a big part of it, hitting 26 home runs and also setting career highs in OPS (.889), on-base percentage (.389) and RBIs (86).
He, and they, were just getting started.
Bauers pushed the Brewers toward NLCS victory with an epic 12-pitch at-bat against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, resulting in a walk that preceded a Christian Yelich RBI single. More important, it wore down Yamamoto and enabled the Brewers' bullpen to assert its dominance.
He came back with another gem in Game 3 Wednesday, flipping the game - perhaps the series - with a two-run, go-ahead left-on-left homer off Blake Snell, capping an 11-pitch at-bat. And a 2-1 Brewers deficit turned into a 3-2 lead and eventual 4-2 victory.
Now, the World Series, a worthy destination for a slugger whose route was so circuitous. Yet so rewarding.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' season − and their quest to become the first National League team to ever win three consecutive World Series − ended Thursday night. Their 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers secured a sweep in the NLCS at Chavez Ravine, sending the Brew Crew to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1982.
For all the buzz there was back in spring about the Dodgers' chase for history, that talk was downplayed heading into the postseason. The players in the clubhouse and manager Dave Roberts said all the right things heading into the postseason. They couldn't look ahead at the big picture. They had to focus on each opponent in front of them. The chaos and randomness of October was all too familiar to them.
"We don't need to be adding any extra pressure on ourselves," Max Muncy said before the NLDS. "... Winning the World Series is already hard enough as it is."
All of that rang true once they ran into the buzzsaw that was the Brewers pitching staff, which completely shut down a Dodgers lineup that already wasn't firing on all cylinders in the previous round. Runs come at a premium in the postseason, and LA simply couldn't produce enough of them.
The end result was all too predictable.
Here are the three biggest reasons the Dodgers failed in their push for a three-peat:
Mismanagement of Shohei Ohtani
Above all else, the Dodgers simply weren't healthy enough. Shohei Ohtani, hampered by knee and bicep injuries since early July that eventually ended his season on the mound, has not been his superhuman self at the plate. His last home run, before Thursday, was on Aug. 18, and he finished out the regular season batting .157 with a .214 slugging percentage over his final 18 games.
He hadn't fared much better in the postseason, hitting 4-for-22 and not registering a single extra base hit entering Thursday. Roberts' hand was forced to move Ohtani down to as low as sixth in the Dodgers' lineup in Game 3 on Wednesday. Ohtani did show flashes at some points, such as his clutch walk against Abner Uribe to load the bases and set up Will Smith's two-run double that briefly gave LA the Game 3 lead. It was enough for Roberts to move Ohtani back to leadoff for Game 4, where he finally broke through for a monster three-run home run − his first in 116 plate appearances − but it was too late to overcome a Brewers squad that flat-out outplayed them all series.
It became clear that Ohtani's two-week IL stint in September didn't provide the "reset" Roberts and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman had hoped. Whatever the extent of Ohtani's injuries actually are, they affected him enough to tweak his mechanics and cause the back-to-back NL MVP to develop bad habits at the plate. At that point, it usually takes an offseason at least to work those out of the system. The reasons for not sitting Ohtani earlier in the season, like in July or August when his symptoms began, were straightforward: his bat is simply too valuable to sit, and Ohtani himself feels a deep responsibility and duty to play in every game.
Still, it's hard not to look back and think how he would be performing now if he had gotten time to properly recover.
More injuries
Ohtani's ailments weren't an isolated case. Freddie Freeman was managing a knee injury in the last few days of the regular season. Blake Snell was limited to just 42.2 innings in nine starts this year due to left shoulder fatigue and loose bodies in his left elbow. He pitched well since returning to the rotation on Aug. 11, but his health was again put in doubt when he exited his penultimate start against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 16 after just one inning with groin tightness, though he avoided a strain and didn't miss his next start.
Tyler Glasnow missed over three months with back spasms. Will Smith was also out on a roughly similar timeline with a neck injury that kept him sidelined from June 5 until Sept. 1.
All significant players who struggled this postseason.
Offense couldn't produce
The Dodgers offense has been streaky for most of the second half of the season; their struggles with runners in scoring position was not limited to October. They grounded into 128 double plays, the most in the major leagues this year.
As a team, they entered Thursday collectively slashing just .188/.264/.308 with 60 strikeouts these playoffs.
The strength of this lineup has always been its pop. The Dodgers couldn't string hits together or manufacture runs against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, but they powered to victory with eight home runs in four games, the most of any team in the postseason entering the NLCS.
But against a Brewers pitching staff that rarely gives up the long ball, the offense completely sputtered out. Game 4 played out the same script, with the Dodgers going out 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position (5 for 43 in the entire postseason). Even worse, this "small ball" Milwaukee team outslugged LA seven homers to one.
That spelled disaster for the Dodgers this season.
Dodgers' 'four aces' rotation goes bust
For all of the Dodgers' shortcomings at the plate, the starting pitching was supposed to be good enough to pick up the slack. Yoshinobu Yamamoto almost did it single-handedly a year ago, and now Tarik Skubal was in the mix along with Snell and Glasnow, who were both pitching well at the end of the regular season. Skubal and Yamamoto dominated in the NLDS while Snell and Glasnow had mixed results but they ultimately did enough to beat the Atlanta Braves.
All of that unraveled in the NLCS. In 18 innings pitched between Skubal, Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow, they gave up a combined 13 runs, 16 hits and eight walks for a 6.50 ERA, according to the OC Register's Bill Plunkett.
Dodgers Miguel Rojas, Tommy Edman and catcher Hunter Feduccia stand in the dugout during Game 4 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The hope for a Dodgers comeback in the National League Championship Series was fleeting.
A long-awaited home run from Shohei Ohtani briefly stoked the flame. But it already had been snuffed out by the time the final out landed in Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio’s glove.
The Dodgers’ hopes of making National League history with a three-peat died with a 6-4 loss to the Brewers on Thursday, completing Milwaukee’s four-game sweep.
As the Dodgers’ postseason hype video declared before the game: “October doesn’t remember who came close. It remembers who triumphs.”
The Brewers' bench cheers after a solo home run by David Hamilton in the ninth inning. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers, after reinforcing their roster from back-to-back championships in the offseason and entering the year as the World Series favorites, were swept out of the NLCS by the team they did it to last year.
When they went down 3-0 in the series, they faced a steep climb that only one team in MLB history has overcome. But the Dodgers showed resolve to begin the game.
Three singles in the second inning gave the Dodgers a lead, with Andy Pages driving in the first run. It was his third hit of the postseason with runners in scoring position and the Dodgers’ fourth overall. Then with two outs, Ohtani not only prolonged the inning but also made it the Dodgers’ highest-scoring frame of the postseason, with their first home run of the series.
It had been a maddening couple of months as Ohtani battled injuries, slid down the batting order and failed to produce when the Dodgers needed him most — in the postseason.
Then on Thursday, with the Dodgers on the brink of elimination, one swing wiped all that away.
Ohtani got his bat head down to a cutter from former Dodgers pitcher Dustin May on the inside corner. He lifted it into the stands for a three-run home run.
Ohtani turned to the Dodgers’ dugout, spread his arms wide and tossed his bat to the side. He tilted his face to the sky and yelled. He punched the air.
This was the version of Ohtani the Dodgers had sorely been missing. He announced his return with authority. And he breathed life into a stadium that had a crowd of only 49,104 — short of a sellout.
It was his first home run since Aug. 18. And it had been even longer since he’d hit a homer quite like that. With an exit velocity of 113.1 mph, it was his hardest-hit home run since June 20 and his third-hardest hit of the year, according to Statcast.
Even more important, it was the big swing the Dodgers had been waiting for all series.
Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow kept the good vibes going, retiring the first 10 batters he faced. But the Brewers, as they had all series, had a comeback in them.
It began with one out in the fourth inning, as Brice Turang drew a walk, the first baserunner against Glasnow. Then William Contreras and Jake Bauers each bounced ground-rule doubles into the stands, Bauers’ driving in two runs to cut the Dodgers’ lead in half.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani strikes out with a runner on third during the seventh inning of Game 4 of the NLCS on Thursday at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The next inning, the Brewers used a walk, stolen base and David Hamilton’s RBI single to tie the score and knock Glasnow out of it.
Then, in the sixth, Dodgers setup man Tanner Scott took the mound early, at an inflection point in the contest. He worked ahead 0-2 in the count to Garrett Mitchell. But Mitchell spat on three straight balls to get to a full count.
Scott missed down the middle with a fastball. Mitchell sent it over the fence to give the Brewers the lead for the first time.
Roberts continued to manage like he had hope, bringing in Edwin Díaz in the seventh to keep the game close.
The Dodgers offense got runners to third in three straight innings. In the sixth, Kyle Tucker hit a one-out double, and Teoscar Hernández moved him over with a groundout. In the seventh, Pages led off with a double, and Kiké Hernández bunted him over. In the eighth, with one out, Will Smith cut out the middle man by doubling into the right-field corner and advancing to third when right fielder Sal Frelick misplayed the carom off the wall.
The Dodgers stranded all three there, failing to score the tying run.
Díaz did his part to keep the Dodgers in the game, retiring eight straight batters. But the ninth batter he faced, Hamilton, hit a solo homer to add cushion to the Brewers’ lead.
LOS ANGELES — Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead homer off reliever Tanner Scott in the sixth inning, Milwaukee’s bullpen slammed the door late and the Brewers rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Thursday in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to earn their first trip to the World Series since 1982.
No. 9 hitter David Hamilton’s two-out solo shot off reliever Edwin Díaz gave the Brewers a two-run cushion in the ninth. Hamilton had just four homers in the regular season.
Shohei Ohtani’s first home run of the postseason helped put the Dodgers ahead 4-0 early before the Brewers came back to complete a four-game sweep of the two-time defending World Series champions a year after getting swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS.
The Brewers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 in their only other World Series appearance, when Milwaukee played in the American League.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 15: Members of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate in the dugout as David Hamilton #6 rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning during Game Four of the National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, October 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run in 58 days, and the Dodgers built an early lead. But the Milwaukee Brewers answered, as they did in every game of the National League Championship Series, and finished off the Dodgers with a 6-4 win in Game 4 on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.
The Brewers advance to the World Series for the first time since 1982, and their first trip to the Fall Classic as a National League team.
“Just seeing the work the last couple days, I like where his head is at,” Roberts said before Game 4. “I liked the at-bats yesterday, and I felt that trying to shake it up a little bit.”
All that sowing finally brought reaping in the second inning of Game 4 with two runners on, when Ohtani unloaded on a cutter from former teammate Dustin May for a three-run shot and an early 4-0 lead.
Ohtani had 115 plate appearances between home runs, the longest drought of his career, hitting a paltry .156/.289/.229 with one run batted in and 37 strikeouts since his homer at Coors Field on August 18.
Four runs in the second was the Dodgers’ best inning of this postseason. Ohtani had the team’s first home run since the ninth inning of Game 4 of the National League Division Series, snapping a 118-plate-appearance skid.
“I think for us it’s just play free and easy. The facts are we haven’t hit. We’ve got two extra base hits in the series,” Roberts said. “So our baseball is hitting, slugging, and we haven’t done it, but there’s still today. They’ve still got to beat us today.”
By the fifth inning, that 4-0 lead disappeared.
Tyler Glasnow retired his first 10 batters before trouble arrived in the fourth inning. A Brice Turang walk was followed by a pair of ground-rule doubles, William Contreras to left field and Jake Bauers to right field. After Bauers turned games around with a 12-pitch walk and 11-pitch home run in the previous two games, Glasnow used only six pitches on this two-run double.
Sal Frelick walked with one out in the fifth, then stole second off Glasnow, and scored on a single by David Hamilton, the fourth time in the NLCS that Milwaukee sequenced a single, steal, and single for a run. That ended Glasnow’s night after 13 outs, having allowed five of his final eight batters to reach.
Evan Phillips entered and got a second out on a scorched line drive to center by Jackson Chourio, then fell behind 3-0 to Brice Turang before issuing an intentional walk. William Contreras walked on six pitches, ending the outing for Phillips while loading the bases.
Alex Vesia came into face Bauers, seemingly in the middle of everything int this series. He walked on four pitches, the fourth Brewers walk of the inning to tie the game at 4-4. Vesia escaped further damage by inducing a groundout by Christian Yelich.
All bullpen hands were on deck for the Dodgers, who turned to Tanner Scott in the sixth inning. He got ahead 0-2 on lefty Garrett Mitchell, who worked the count full before homering to center field for Milwaukee’s first lead of the night. Mitchell entered these playoffs with two home runs off southpaws in 201 career plate appearances, and he homered in Game 3 off Blake Snell and Game 4 off Scott.
Left-hander JoJo Romero pitched two scoreless innings to stem the tied while the Brewers came back, then it was time to turn the game over the Milwaukee’s devastating back end of the bullpen.
Left-hander Aaron Ashby pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings combined in the first two games, then got a respite in Game 3.
“Ashby — I don’t understand that,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said before Game 4. “It’s 98 to 100 from up here and sinking and curving.”
Andy Pages greeted Ashby for a leadoff double in the seventh inning, the Dodgers’ third extra-base hit of the game after only two total in the first three games. Most importantly, the tying run was in scoring position, and Kiké Hernández bunted Pages over to third base. But Ashby struck out Ohtani on three pitches before inducing a groundout from Mookie Betts to keep Milwaukee’s lead.
Ashby stayed in for the eighth, pitching in multiple innings in relief for the fifth time this postseason and 31st time this season, tied with Justin Bruihl for most in the majors. He got Freeman to fly out before Will Smith doubled, and went to third on an error by Frelick in right field. But Kyle Tucker, who doubled and was stranded in the sixth, flew out to shallow center then Teoscar Hernández struck out to end the threat.
The Dodgers had doubles in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings with either one or zero out, trailing by a run and none of them scored. In Game 4 they had two hits in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position, their best showing in that regard all postseason, which consisted of only five hits with 43 at-bats (.116) with runners in scoring position in eight games.
Third baseman David Hamilton, who stole a base earlier in Game 4 and swiped three bags in the NLCS, cut out the middleman and drove in himself with a solo home run in the ninth, providing yet another insurance run for a Brewers team that cashed in all series.
Ashby stayed in the game, because why not? He didn’t allow anything in the ninth inning, clinching the pennant with a three-inning save. The Dodgers had no three-inning saves all season.
Milwaukee is just the second team ever to get swept one season, then beat that team in the next year’s postseason, joining the 1923 New York Yankees. The Brewers are the first to be swept then return the favor with a sweep of their own.
NLCS Game 4 particulars
Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (1), Garrett Mitchell (2), David Hamilton (1)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 14: Garrett Mitchell #5 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates after hitting a Home Run during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Milwaukee Brewers have finally done it for the first time in 44 years.
After the franchise’s lone World Series appearance as an American League team back in 1982, they’re headed back to the Fall Classic as a National League team for the first time ever in 2026.
To do it, they played some more come-from-behind Brewers baseball to complete a sweep of the two-time reigning World Champion Dodgers, returning the favor after Los Angeles swept them in last year’s NLCS.
With Shane Drohan on a playoff mound for the first time in his young career, things got off to a shaky start. After setting down Shohei Ohtani, he walked a pair in the first inning but escaped the jam with a 6-4-3 double play.
The second didn’t start any better, as Kyle Tucker hit a single, marking the end of Drohan’s day as Dustin May replaced him. The Dodgers kept rolling against May, with Teoscar Hernández singling to put runners at the corners with no outs.
After a Max Muncy strikeout, Andy Pages singled to bring in the first run of the night, giving the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead. Enrique Hernández then lined out, but Ohtani crushed his first homer of the postseason, creating a four-run deficit through just two innings.
Needing some offense, the Brewers couldn’t get anything going early. Tyler Glasnow, who had a perfect game through the first 10 batters, finally faltered with one out in the fourth. He walked Brice Turang and then gave up back-to-back ground-rule doubles to William Contreras and Jake Bauers, cutting the lead in half to 4-2 after four frames.
After Cooper Pratt flew out, Sal Frelick drew a walk, swiped second base, and scored on a David Hamilton single. Evan Phillips took over from Glasnow and got Chourio to line out, but he allowed a stolen base by Hamilton before walking both Turang and Contreras, loading the bases for new pitcher Alex Vesia.
On the pitching side, JoJo Romero took over for May in the bottom of the inning, striking out Ohtani and Freddie Freeman around a groundout by Mookie Betts to maintain the tie.
That tie wouldn’t last very long.
Leading off the sixth, Garrett Mitchell fell behind 0-2 against the lefty Tanner Scott. He then took three balls to work the count back to full before Scott left a four-seamer down the middle, which Mitchell promptly crushed to right-center, his second homer in as many nights to give Milwaukee a 5-4 lead.
The Dodgers threatened against Milwaukee’s bullpen in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, getting a runner to third via a double in all three frames but failing to get the run across in each case.
Looking for insurance, Hamilton crushed a homer to right-center in the top of the ninth, his first homer of the postseason after slugging just four homers in the regular season.
Aaron Ashby, who has been absolute nails for Milwaukee throughout the series, worked a perfect ninth to finish off three more strong innings, striking out three to secure the sweep and Milwaukee’s first NL pennant in franchise history.
Another balanced attack with a whole lot of small ball — Milwaukee had just five hits tonight, drawing five walks and coming up in the moments when it mattered most to score six unanswered runs after a rough start from Drohan and May.
Romero and Ashby worked five scoreless innings in relief, striking out six while allowing three hits (all doubles) but stranding all three of those runners at third.
Bauers, who drew the game-tying walk in the fifth, earned NLCS MVP. IN this four-game set, Bauers went 4-for-14 with a homer, a double, three walks, and six RBIs. What those numbers don’t include, however, are Bauers’ incredible 12-pitch and 11-pitch at-bats on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, culminating in a walk and a homer that completely changed the narrative of Games 2 and 3.
While Bauers earned the MVP, make no mistake that this was a balanced attack.
Ashby was incredible with 6 2/3 scoreless innings across three outings, earning a pair of saves and allowing just two hits and a walk. Contreras went 5-for-14 with a homer, a double, and three RBIs. Mitchell slugged a pair of big homers. Even Hamilton went 4-for-7 with a homer and three steals despite only appearing in two games.
The Brewers will now spend the next week preparing as they await an opponent for their first World Series appearance in 44 years. It will be either the Tampa Bay Rays or the Cleveland Guardians — Cleveland leads that series 2-1 entering Friday’s Game 4. We’ll have plenty of coverage over the next week, but for now, pour one out for Bob Uecker and the 2026 NL Champion Brewers.
LOS ANGELES — The Milwaukee Brewers can’t tell you much about their 1982 ancestors, with no current player alive the last time the club went to the World Series, but Thursday evening, they just carved out their own legacy.
The Brewers, the team that resides in the smallest market in baseball, who can’t afford to keep their stars, who changed leagues since they last won the pennant, who have never won a World Series title, just claimed the National League pennant and a trip to the World Series.
The Brewers shocked the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers by completing a four-game sweep, winning 6-4, in front of a paid non-sellout crowd of 49,104 at Dodger Stadium.
“I don't know much about baseball history," Brewers second baseman Brice Turang said, “but now that I'm a part of it, learning the history of and how much it would mean to the city… yeah, it would mean a lot.
“They've gone through the bads and the goods, and they've stuck with us. And they're really good fans. They show up to every game. They're passionate about baseball. Any sport in Milwaukee or Wisconsin."
“We love them just as much as they love us. It's been fun to be able to play a part with them in the stands."
Mark Attanasio, owner of the Brewers, plans to present the National League Championship Series trophy to former commissioner Bud Selig, who brought the franchise to Milwaukee in 1970, and owned it until selling it to Attanasio in 2005.
“He deserves this," Attanasio said. “He has meant everything to Milwaukee and this franchise.’’
It was no fluke that the Brewers swept the Dodgers. They beat them in every phase of the game.
The Dodgers were in every game, but every time they managed a lead, the Brewers came fighting back, just like on this night.
The Dodgers, who have been looking for a clutch hit the entire postseason, batting .116 with runners in scoring position, finally appeared to find their magic moment in the second inning when Shohei Ohtani stepped to the plate with two outs and two runners on base.
He looked terrible in his first at-bat against lefty Shane Drohan, striking out on five pitches, badly swinging and missing on a slider and losing his helmet in the process.
This time, facing former teammate Dustin May, he swung at May’s 95.1-mph cutter, and sent it halfway up the right-field pavilion 428 feet away, with a vicious swing clocked at 113-mph.
Ohtani stood at the plate, admired it, flung his bat high into the air, and screamed. He danced around the bases, stomped on home plate, skipped into the dugout, and slapped hands so hard that his hands stung.
Just like that, the baseball world was subtly reminded that Ohtani, who was mired in the deepest slumps in his career, still is the greatest player in the game.
And perhaps no one needed that reminder more than Ohtani.
Ohtani, who had not homered since Aug. 18, and hit .156 with only three extra-base hits after the homer, spent the past several days working on his swing deep into the night, with a debate raging whether he should still be playing with his nagging knee and biceps injuries.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts dropped him from leadoff to second, to fourth, to fifth, to sixth in the lineup. He even had a heart-to-heart conversation with Ohtani on Tuesday to see if he was healthy enough to contribute with his nagging injuries.
He convinced Roberts he’d be fine, and was close to finding his stroke, staying in the hitting cages until 9 p.m.
Ohtani, hitting sixth in the lineup in their Game 3 loss, looked like the Ohtani of old, reaching base three times with a 113-mph single off his bat.
Roberts rewarded him by putting him back as the leadoff hitter, believing if they’re going to go down, he wanted to go down with the lineup that brought them here, moving struggling catcher Will Smith back to the cleanup spot, too.
It worked, but the Brewers came storming back with two runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game, with Garrett Mitchell hitting the go-ahead homer to lead off the sixth.
Mitchell, who had hit two homers all season off left-handed pitchers, suddenly hit two homers off lefties in 24 hours.
“You got to give credit where credit’s due,’’ Dodgers veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “You've got a platinum Gold Glover [Brice Turang] at second base. Joey Ortiz is great at third. Cooper Pratt has been playing amazing as a rookie. They played great baseball.’’
Now, the question is whether this is the end of the Dodgers’ dynasty, reaching the postseason 14 consecutive years, winning five pennants, and three World Series titles since 2020.
“We do know we have an older team," Freeman, 37, said. “That doesn't mean we're old and we're playing bad because we're old. But that's people's opinions. I can't change your opinion because we are in this game a little bit older than everybody else.’’
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Ketel Marte #4 and Geraldo Perdomo #2 of the Arizona Diamondbacks look on during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on September 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Introduction
In case you’ve been living under a rock since the D-Backs were eliminated from the postseason chase, it’s been an exhilarating postseason to this point with impressive pitching performances, historic comebacks, and drama abounded. Sadly, for the third straight year the Diamondbacks find themselves sitting at home setting tee times rather than lineups at this time of year. There are plenty of reasons for that situation – both as a team and individually. We’ll have plenty of time to digest and dissect those reasons (especially if the sport’s labor relations take the expected turn for the worse). But even though the season as a whole was unsuccessful within that frame of mind, there was plenty of exciting success for individuals up and down the roster. I think it’s worth highlighting that success and the individual achievements players reach in a season so I’ve been picking some individual milestones that players might reach in the season for the past couple of years to spotlight them in a long season.
Ketel Marte’s Approaches 200 Homers
Like the team, the club’s unofficial team captain had a rocky season both on an off the field. It was his worst season by OPS and OPS+ in nearly five years and a sharp departure from the MVP-caliber play he showed at times last season. Additionally, for the second year in a row, he demonstrated serious, well-documented off-field issues that clearly affected his play and the play of his teammates. The year started very slowly for him at the plate as his OPS bottomed out at .619 at the end of play on May 15th after an 0-for-5 effort in a win against the Rockies. Even worse, Marte had clubbed just five home runs and only 12 extra base hits in the first 41 games. From that date through the end of the season however, Marte looked like his usual self with a .266/.336/.464 slash line, 17 roundtrippers, and 44 extra base hits in the final 101 games of the season. Those numbers are closer to his career norms of a .280/.349/.472 slash line, 23 home runs, and 65 extra base hits, but they were not enough for the veteran to reach the 28 homers necessary to hit 200 for his career. Instead, he finds himself seven homers short of the 200 career mark, facing down negativity from the fanbase, and even more question marks on his position within the organization.
Nolan Arenado’s Pursuit of 2000 Hits
It’s easy to say in hindsight, but I really like the move when Mike Hazen traded for Arenado this past offseason. It improved what was a mediocre defense last year, especially with Eugenio Saurez at the hot corner, brought in some needed veteran leadership, and would take whatever kind of offense they could get from him. Instead, the future Hall of Famer seemingly found the Fountain of Youth in the desert as he put together his best season since 2022. He reached 2000 career hits in late July and shortly afterward reached the bWAR milestone of 60 for his career. Ultimately, he ended the season with 2057 hits and a career 61.4 bWAR, a particularly incredible set of accomplishments considering how poorly the previous two campaigns with the Cardinals were for him. And while it’s unlikely he’ll be able to recreate that kind of success two seasons in a row at 36, the D-Backs do have an additional year of control with him for next season. If nothing else, Arenado has shown that he can contribute through his leadership and dazzling glovework.
Their four-run cushion, powered by Shohei Ohtani's 428-foot home run and delayed arrival to October, disappeared in the top of the fifth inning after what had been a stellar outing from Tyler Glasnow spiraled. Evan Phillips couldn't clean up the mess, leaving a bases-loaded jam for Alex Vesia, who proceeded to walk Jake Bauers to score the tying run for Milwaukee.
The very next inning, Garrett Mitchell took Tanner Scott deep for a late, go-ahead home run.
Sal Frelick began the fifth-inning rally with a one-out walk and immediately stole second. David Hamilton brought him home on an RBI single up the middle to bring the Brewers within one run and putting an end to Glasnow's night.
Phillips entered the game and got Jackson Chourio to line out, but intentionally walked Brice Turang after Hamilton stole second. The 32-year-old right-hander couldn't put away William Contreras, though, unintentionally walking him on six pitches to load the bases. Dave Roberts then pulled Phillips for Vesia, but Vesia couldn't find the strike zone and walked Bauers on four pitches to tie the game.
Vesia got out of the jam on a grounder from Christian Yelich in the next at-bat, and he was replaced by Scott for the top of the sixth. Mitchell led off the inning and worked a full count before taking advantage of a fastball down the middle on Scott's sixth pitch, sending it 409 feet over the wall in right center field to give Milwaukee a 5-4 lead.
The Brewers are three innings away from eliminating the Dodgers and clinching their first pennant since 1982.
AMARILLO, TX - AUGUST 12: Avery Owusu-Asiedu #25 of the Amarillo Sod Poodles high fives teammate Jansel Luis #10 after scoring during the game between the Midland RockHounds and the Amarillo Sod Poodles at Hodgetown on Wednesday, August 12, 2026 in Amarillo, Texas. (Photo by Elisa Chavez/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Introduction
Instead of continuing with the next installment of the 2026 prospect all-star series, I’m going to shift gears this week. Instead, we’re going to talk about some prospects that I have heard quite a few people write off for various reason, or just outright dismiss.
Some of that is justified, but some of it completely misses the mark. Often it is either way too harsh or it’s just way too early to call said player a non-prospect when some of these guys are still younger than the average NCAA player. A lot of the criticisms lacks the context of what the player has done in the past, what their season looks like relative to past performance and the league they’re in.
In a world full of negativity and the most pessimistic takes, I am proponent of finding reasons to be optimistic, even if there aren’t many Will it always work out for these players? Most likely not, but there is always just as much of chance for a well regarded prospect who’s been doing well to randomly flame out, for many different reasons.
For once I will not be excluding players who have appeared in the major leagues this season, so the players discussed today range from Low A ball all the way up to the guys on the bubble of the 26 man roster.
Jansel Luis
Bats/Throws: S/R Position: 3B/SS/(2B?) Height/Weight 6’0″ / 170 Born: March 6, 2005 in San Pedro de Macoris, DR
The jump to AA is the second hardest in professional baseball and just because you’re playing in one of the most hitter friendly ballparks in one of the most hitter friendly leagues, doesn’t mean that jump is going to be any easier. Jansel Luis learned that himself the hard way in 2026. In the past talent evaluators had pointed out the erratic nature of the switch hitting middle infielder’s approach at the plate, and combined with facing much tougher pitching, lead to a down year at the plate.
In a career high 109 games, Luis hit just 270/315/.444 with 16 hrs, in addition to successfully swiping 26 bases in 30 attempts. While that sounds like acceptable production from a 2B/SS/3B, that works out to a rather meager and below average 76 wRC+ and .335 wOBA. As a switch hitter though, that doesn’t tell the whole story about Luis’ season. As a LHB against LHP Luis hit 288/.327/.485 with an .813 OPS, but as a RHB against LHP, he hit a paltry .222/.284/.326 .with a 610 OPS.
A few interesting pieces of trivia came up in the midst of my research for this article. The first one is the fact that for some reason, Luis took a lone plate appearance against left handed pitching as a left handed batter, and in that at-bat he hit a grand slam. In addition, Luis also had three plate appearances as a right handed batter against right handed pitching, going 1 for 3 with a single. Assuming this is correct information and not a data entry error, could this suggest that Jansel Luis might be better off dropping the switch hitting and consider hitting exclusively from the left side? Clearly in a season where things weren’t going well on one side of the plate, Luis was willing to experiment and try something different.
As a 21 year old in Double-A having his first real career setback, that’s really not that bad of a seasonn all things considered. He’s likely to start the year in Double-A, but with a good spring he very well might get back on track enough to start the year in Triple-A Reno. Considering he’s still relatively young though, the Diamondbacks have no reason to rush him, so the former seems like a likely outcome in my opinion.
instead started 85 of his 109 games at third base, 19 at shortstop, and the rest at DH.
Cristofer Torin
Bats/Throws: R/R Position: SS Height/Weight 5’9″ / 155 Born: May 26, 2005 in Acarigua, Venezuela
Cristofer Torin has been linked in my mind with Jansel Luis since the beginning of their professional career, as both signed as international amateur free agents in January of 2022. Since then, they’ve played at every level together, with Torin usually at shortstop and Luis at second or third base. Both players also had impressive 2025 season, and both players struggled at the plate in 2026 playing in Amarillo. Despite the fact that Torin has never gotten quite the same level of glowing praise as Luis has as a prospect, the former has always stood out to me more, even though the latter has much louder tools.
In 2026, Cristofer Torin played in 118 games, all with Amarillo in the Double-A level Texas League. In those 118 games, Torin put up a triple slash line of .281/.344/.440 with a .350 wOBA and an 85 wRC+. His 16 home runs actually matches his career total entering 2026, though his 12 successful stolen bases in 18 attempts is a career low, as was his 8.1% walk percentage. His 11.2% strikeout percentage is the third lowest of his career, and the lowest since 2023. Torin also put up the second lowest batting average on balls in play of his career (.291 BABIP) which was significantly lower than his career average, which suggests to me that a lot of Torin’s ‘down’ season was the result of bad luck. Torin’s defense is some of the best of any player in the D’backs farm system, so much so that I wouldn’t even really call this a bad season. An 85 wRC+ from a shortstop with plus plus defense is still going to provide positive Wins Above Replacement, so I am not all that worried about Torin’s future, and I expect him to be able to make the adjustments he needs to return to offensive form next season.
LuJames Groover
Bats/Throws: R/R Position: 3B/1B/DH Height/Weight 6’2″ / 215 Born: April 16, 2002 in East Point, GA, USA
LuJames Groover spent 15 games in the major leagues in 2026, largely playing out of position at first base instead of third where he had spent the majority of his professional career, and never really looked like he had the chance to get comfortable at the plate or in the field. Is it really a surprise then that he hit just .167/.259/.271 with a very anemic looking 245 wOBA, 286 xwOBA, and a 51 wRC+? Groover was perfectly fine in AAA, putting up a .305/.389/.436 triple slash with a 102 wRC+. The real cause for concern in Groover’s future is the lack of power and expected SLG % that is 100 points lower than it was in reality, which brings his xwOBA down to .304 from his .375 wOBA.
Groover is going to need to make some somewhat significant changes this winter and spring to both his swing and his approach at the plate, to unlock a lot more power. If he’s going to be shifted down the defensive spectrum to first or DH, he just doesn’t have the power to be an average hitter at either position. He’s significantly improved his defense at third base, and I do think he can stick there, but his time in MLB in 2026 shows he just not ready yet. Calling him a bust after only fifteen games is absolutely ridiculous though, and he thinks we’ll need a full season worth of games to get a fair read on Groover as a prospect
Druw Jones
Bats/Throws: R/R Position: CF Height/Weight 6’2″ / 180lbs Born: November 28, 2003 in Atlanta, GA
This is going to be the most controversial inclusion in this article, because I know the vast majority of D’Backs fans reading this have already labled Jones a bust and think he has absolutely no chance at a future in the big leagues. While I agree that he hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations set by being the son of a Hall of famer, on top of being the second overall draft pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, I think Jones might still have a future in the big leagues and I wouldn’t label him a total bust just yet.
You might wonder why I exactly I would say that, but there’s a few reasons why. The first and foremost reason is that as one of the best defensive outfield prospect I’ve ever seen, Jones really doesn’t need to hit much to land a gig in the major leagues as a late defensive replacement and fourth outfielder. The fact that he’s a plus runner and a credible stolen base threat, stealing a career high 38 bases in 49 attempts, gives him an opportunity to also be pinch runner. Yeah that’s not exactly exciting, but tell that to Terrence Gore, who had two world series rings in spite of only 74 career regular season at bats.
Now getting to my main point, while Jones 2026 season wasn’t great, and there are still some major red flags, he looked significantly better in the second half of the season, putting up a triple slash of .288/.341/.407 compared to the .252/.380/.338 he put up in the first half. He also had some really hot stretches, especially in June when he put up a .368/.489/.500 triple slash in 21 games that month, as well as in September when he hit .356/.408/.533 in 12 games. Jones’ worth month by far was in May, when he hit .200/.333/.240 in 22 games. The .573 OPS he put up in may is quite a bit lower than the .640 OPS he put up in August, his next worst month. I think his season would look a lot better if May was more in line with the rest of the year.
Conclusion
That’s it for today! Do you agree or disagree with my evaluations? Which player that I didn’t write about do you think we shouldn’t be giving up on just yet? Which players do you think we should be giving up on after 2026? Let me know in the comments below!
Ohtani spoke with manager Dave Roberts earlier this week about staying in the lineup despite a prolonged slump.
The decision paid off: this was his first home run in 116 plate appearances. He had not hit a home run since a game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Aug. 18.
The Dodgers star sent the ball 428 feet into right center field, giving the Dodgers a 4-0 lead in Game 4.
The Dodgers are in a must-win situation, entering the game having lost the first three games of the NLCS against the Brewers.
Ohtani, the designated hitter, has not been healthy for a good portion of the 2026 season. He’s been dealing with knee inflammation and biceps discomfort. The injuries have limited his time as a pitcher; he hasn’t pitched at all since July 3 due to his injuries and he's not expected to pitch during the postseason.
The Yankees are expected to extend a one-year qualifying offer to closer David Bednar, but not infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., ahead of this winter's upcoming free agency period, according to a report from The New York Post's Jon Heyman.
Each offseason, teams are eligible to offer their impending free agents a one-year contract extension equal to the average salary of the 125 highest-paid players in MLB. This offseason, the one-year qualifying offer will be worth $23.15 million.
Bednar, 32, just wrapped up his first full season in pinstripes. He posted 35 saves in 2026, trailing only Tampa Bay's Bryan Baker, Cleveland's Cade Smith, St. Louis's Riley O'Brien, and San Diego's Mason Miller (Bednar tied with Boston's Aroldis Chapman and Toronto's Louis Varland).
His 2.47 ERA and 1.038 WHIP were the stellar marks of a true shutdown closer, punching out 76 batters across 69.1 IP.
Meanwhile, Chisholm, 28, had an up-and-down 2026 season. Jazz grades out extremely well on the basepaths (41 stolen bases) and defensively at second base, but gained a reputation for the odd baserunning gaffe and fielding error.
At the plate, Jazz followed up a 2025 season in which he hit 31 home runs (earning him the Silver Slugger award) with just 19 this time around, as his batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage all ticked downward to a .231/.312/.399 slash line.
Looking at players under team control entering 2027, a resurgent Anthony Volpe, having learned to play second base, stands out as a potential replacement for Chisholm, as well as other infielders capable of playing the position: Jose Caballero and Luis Garcia.
Last offseason, the Yankees extended the qualifying offer to Trent Grisham. The 29-year-old outfielder opted to accept the one-year, $22.025 million extension rather than test the free agent market for a multi-year contract. Grisham regressed mightily year-over-year, as his WAR plummeted from 3.5 to 0.6 and his OPS from .811 to .703.
Grisham is now expected to hit the open market this offseason, alongside 1B Paul Goldschmidt, INF Amed Rosario, and relief pitchers Paul Blackburn, Tim Hill, and Ryan Yarbrough.
Oct 15, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Detail view of helmets in the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout before game four of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs against the Milwaukee Brewers at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Dodgers have one more game to try and ensure they have at least one more game.
