It's been 44 years since the Brewers went to their first − and until this year only − World Series. They played in a different league entirely back then, winning the American League championship in 1982.
So, it's been a long time. The last 10 years in particular have provided plenty of heartbreak, with the Brewers losing in the NLCS twice to the Dodgers − last year by sweep.
The Brew Crew arrived in 2026, though, and years of frustration melted away as the celebration commenced.
Here's a quick look at the scene as the Brewers celebrated winning the 2026 NL championship.
"This is it as a player,” Rojas told reporters. “That was my last game played; that was the last time I put these cleats on and this uniform on as a player.”
The Venezuelan spent the past four seasons in Los Angeles, winning back-to-back World Series in 2024 and 2025. He was a big reason the Dodgers repeated.
Rojas' biggest career moment came in the top of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2025 World Series when he hit a game-tying home run off Toronto Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman at the Rogers Centre.
He returned to the Dodgers in 2026 to help chase the three-peat.
"This is it as a player, that was my last game played, that was the last time I put these cleats on and this uniform on as a player..."
Amid the Dodgers’ pain, hurt and frustration of their National League Championship Series sweep at the hands of the Brewers on Thursday night, Miguel Rojas added even more emotions to one final postgame clubhouse meeting.
As he had planned –– but not fully committed to –– throughout this season, the 37-year-old veteran told his teammates he was indeed retiring from baseball, making Game 4 of the NLCS the final act in his accomplished 13-year MLB career.
“This is it,” Rojas told reporters afterward. “I’m moving on with the next chapter in my life.”
Miguel Rojas runs out a base hit during the third inning of the Dodgers’ Game 3 loss to the Brewers in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
“The last four years here changed my life,” he added.
Almost as much as Rojas changed the two-time defending champions themselves.
A Venezuelan native who broke into the majors with the Dodgers in 2014, before spending the next eight years of his career as a defensive stalwart with the Marlins, Rojas returned to Los Angeles in a trade ahead of the 2023 season, initially in what was viewed as a marginal addition for a star-studded Dodgers roster trying to climb back to the mountaintop after their 2020 World Series championship.
Right from the start, however, Rojas carved out an important role as a steady, experienced leader.
During his second Dodgers stint, he produced plenty on the field, hitting .260 with 22 home runs, 117 RBIs and versatile infield defense in 446 total games.
He was even more crucial in the postseason, contributing to their 2024 title before saving them in the 2025 Fall Classic with his game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 against the Blue Jays.
“I’m just proud of being part of this group,” he said. “That we were able to win back-to-back championships.”
Rojas will remain in the Dodgers’ organization moving forward, having agreed to transition into player development after 2026 when he re-signed as a free agent with the club this winter.
Second baseman Miguel Rojas throws to first base for an out during the Dodgers’ Game 3 NLDS win over the Braves on Oct. 6, 2026 at Truist Park in Cumberland, Ga. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“I wanna stay here,” he said. “I wanna wear this uniform or this logo in a different capacity.”
Still, he didn’t want to take off his uniform –– or even his cleats –– on Thursday night, remaining dressed in his full game attire as he spoke to reporters after addressing his teammates.
“It’s really hard to take them off right now,” he said. “It was really emotional after the game.”
Freddie Freeman (left) and second baseman Miguel Rojas carry the back-to-back World Series trophies to the field before the Dodgers’ blowout win over the Diamondbacks in their season and home opener on March 26, 2026 in Los Angeles. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
Rojas never went to an All-Star Game or hit more than 11 home runs in a season, and somehow was denied Gold Glove recognition.
But to this Dodgers dynasty, he will go down as a core piece and a beloved veteran leader.
“He built a legacy,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “We’ll be talking about Miguel Rojas for a long time.”
For the first time in a long time, Dave Roberts had to give a consolation speech in the Dodgers clubhouse.
The Brewers completed a four-game sweep of the back-to-back World Series champions in the National League Championship Series Thursday night, ending the Dodgers’ historic run to complete the three-peat.
Manager Dave Roberts had nothing but praise for Milwaukee following a crushing 6-4 defeat in NLCS Game 4.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts speaks to the media ahead of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
“I can’t give enough praise to the Brewers organization and the baseball office of Matt Arnold and his staff and Pat Murphy and his staff. And how they got those guys to play,” Roberts said.
“They played flawless, they really did,” he added.
The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate after Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Murphy wasn’t so kind in his parting message to the Dodgers as the Brewers were crowned National League champions at Dodger Stadium Thursday night. For all the excitement and hype surrounding the Dodgers in 2026, the juggernaut miserably failed to live up to expectations in October.
Across eight postseason games, the Dodgers were 5-for-43 with runners in scoring position and stranded 50 runners on base. Their performance was not up to snuff to beat Milwaukee or even get a game over the Brewers in the Championship Series.
Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell celebrates his solo home run with Cooper Pratt during the sixth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series. AP Photo/Ashley Landis
The Dodgers may have assembled one of the best rosters in baseball, but the 2026 group will have nothing to show for it. There are several question marks regarding the future of the franchise as the front office will have to navigate the direction of the Dodgers in 2027 and beyond.
But Roberts took the crushing sweep on the chin and mustered a heartfelt message for the Brewers, a team that will be remembered for dominating the juggernaut Dodgers.
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There will be no World Series three-peat for the Dodgers this season. No downtown parade to celebrate the continuation of their modern-day dynasty. Not even a return trip to the Fall Classic to try and defend their back-to-back titles.
Instead, despite a 100-win regular season and league-record $432 million payroll, the two-time defending champions were eliminated in the National League Championship Series by the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, ending their bid for history and sending them into an uncertain offseason –– one that could include an extended lockout, notable changes to the roster, and existential questions about how to retool around their aging veteran core.
Many unknowns remain about what the sport at large will look like in 2027 –– and when next season, amid what figures to be a protracted labor battle, will even begin.
But for now, the focus will be on why a team with the most talent in the sport, the most October experience on their roster, and the best statistical odds of winning the World Series couldn’t even get back to it.
As a long winter begins, here are the five biggest reasons the 2026 Dodgers came up short.
No-Sho’ Ohtani
On paper, no team in the majors has a better-looking lineup than the Dodgers.
In reality, however, cracks in their offensive production have grown increasingly evident in recent postseasons.
Dating back to the 2024 World Series, the club has batted .219 in postseason play. In five of their seven playoff series in that span, their team average has been .206 or worse.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani strikes out during the first inning of NLCS Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
Even in regular-season play, they have endured extended lulls and repeated second-half slumps. They’re a supremely talented unit, to be sure. But, despite all the big names they boast, they haven’t performed all that different from most other playoff teams, either.
Really, only Shohei Ohtani has been a true separator for them at the plate.
And this October, he was in no condition to help the club compensate for its other shortcomings offensively.
That’s why the team’s mismanagement of Ohtani’s injury saga this year proved so costly. For all his talent on the mound, his greatest importance to the Dodgers has long been as a hitter. And this season, the toll of his attempted return to full-time two-way duties rendered that all-important skill set void.
After all, it was no real surprise that some of the team’s other aging star hitters suffered inconsistent postseason campaigns. That was the case last year. Ohtani’s eight playoff home runs and 1.096 OPS helped them overcome it.
But this fall, the four-time MVP’s right arm and left knee injuries limited his capabilities in the box. Where the Dodgers needed a superstar to spearhead their offense, all they had for most of the month was a physically diminished slap hitter who struggled to even reach base consistently instead.
And even when the old Ohtani finally re-emerged in Game 4 on Thursday, hitting a mammoth home run that gave the Dodgers an early 4-0 lead, it was too little, too late, with Ohtani later coming up short again on a three-pitch strikeout with the tying runner at third and one out in the seventh.
That Ohtani and the team couldn’t better manage his health this season will be the biggest regret from this failed three-peat pursuit.
While he was far from the only slumping bat in their lineup, he was the one who, if fully healthy, could have made the biggest impact.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first inning of Game 4 of the NLCS. Wally Skalij for the CA Post
A mortal rotation
The other way the Dodgers overcame their offensive inconsistencies last year, of course, was through superhuman starting pitching.
In the 2025 playoffs, their rotation posted a 2.68 ERA and while averaging more than six innings per start.
Replicating that kind of production again always felt like an unlikely challenge.
Indeed, this October, even an equally star-studded staff encountered inevitable struggles.
Outside of Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s seven-inning, one-run gem in Game 3 of the NL Division Series, the Dodgers only had one other pitcher get past the sixth inning. And that, of course, was in Game 3 of the NLCS, when Blake Snell gave up back-to-back seventh-inning home runs in a gut-wrenching loss that all but ended the Dodgers’ season.
That didn’t mean the Dodgers’ rotation pitched terribly this postseason. They still finished the playoffs with a 3.89 combined ERA from their starters.
Given the fine margins that came with their lackluster offense, however, that wasn’t nearly good enough.
In the NLCS, the Brewers got to each of their big arms, chasing Tarik Skubal after five innings of two-run ball, knocking out Yamamoto in less than three innings the following day, ambushing Snell for three home runs in Game 3, then erasing their four-run deficit against Glasnow in Game 4.
In the same way Ohtani couldn’t put the team on his shoulders, neither could the rotation.
Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman lines out to left at the bottom of the third inning during NLCS Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
RISPy business
After every loss this postseason, the Dodgers’ explanations boiled down to the same futile failure.
They generated plenty of chances for themselves. But, as manager Dave Roberts said for the umpteenth time after Game 3, “we’re just not getting those timely hits.”
No stat better epitomized that than the Dodgers’ 5-for-43 mark in these playoffs with runners in scoring position.
Such challenges, of course, aren’t unique to their offense. Entering Thursday, the league-wide batting average with runners in scoring position was .221.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tommy Edman reacts after striking out against the Milwaukee Brewers in the sixth inning of Game 3 of the NLCS. Wally Skalij for the CA Post
Still, the Dodgers’ output fell far below that mark.
For a team that prided itself on “winning the big moments” each of the past two Octobers, they were repeatedly unable to do so en route to this year’s early exit.
“It’s just one of those points in time where it seems to go that way,” utilityman Kiké Hernández said of the Dodgers’ RISP struggles. “And it just happened to be at the worst time of the season.”
While that might be true — there is an inherent randomness to situational hitting — the issue has also been a recurring problem for the Dodgers recently.
Last postseason, the team hit .204 with runners in scoring position. This year, they ranked seventh in the majors in that category with a .262 but also experienced long stretches in which big hits felt impossible to consistently produce.
Questions about why that was the case will reverberate long into the offseason.
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts throws out Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras on a ground out during the sixth inning of Game 3. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Dino Dodgers
All season, the Dodgers downplayed concerns about having the majors’ oldest lineup. Throughout the playoffs, they embraced their “Dinosaur Dodgers” nickname.
But in the end, it was hard not to feel like the club’s age eventually caught up to it.
Exhibit A: They didn’t hit a home run in the NLCS until Ohtani’s blast in Game 4, lacking the kind of consistent pop that has helped carry them through offensive lulls in previous postseasons.
“I don’t know what you can really say to that,” Freddie Freeman, the second eldest of the bunch at 37 years old, said before Game 4. “That’s just people’s opinions of what that is. We do know we have an older team. That doesn’t mean we’re old and we’re playing bad because we’re old. We’re just not playing that great, in my mind.”
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After losing four straight games to the Brewers in the National League Championship series, the hopes of a historic three-peat have diminished. As Milwaukee accepted the National League pennant at Dodger Stadium Thursday night, Brewers manager Pat Murphy took a moment to send a somewhat cruel message to the back-to-back World Series champions.
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy celebrates on the podium after defeating the against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game four of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we have a bunch of gamers, and the gamers won this week,” Murphy said on the broadcast.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches from the dugout during the ninth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series. AP Photo/Gregory BullThe Milwaukee Brewers celebrate with pitcher Aaron Ashby (26) after the final out of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
The Dodgers starting rotation — filled with Cy Young winners, All-Stars and World Series MVPs — posted a 6.50 ERA in the NLCS. The Dodgers lineup — which featured nine players with at least one All-Star selection to their name — was 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position.
The Dodgers assembled one of the greatest rosters in baseball, but fell short in what is likely to be remembered as one of the worst postseason collapses in MLB history. LA couldn’t muster a single win over the Brewers throughout the NLCS, despite the star-studded team.
Evidently, Milwaukee is reveling in its historic sweep of the Dodgers as Murphy’s comments are sure to sting ahead of a trying offseason for the organization.
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.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani hits a home run at the bottom of the second inning. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
It was the four-time MVP’s first long ball since Aug. 18, snapping his career-long 25-game homer drought. It was also the Dodgers’ first big fly of this series, representing the first true sign of life all week from their slumping offense.
However, it wouldn’t last.
As the Brewers came storming back, the Dodgers’ bats once again went mysteriously cold.
Ex-Dodger Dustin May gave up the home run to Ohtani, but then responded with a couple of shut-down innings. Left-hander JoJo Romero came out of the Milwaukee bullpen next, and also threw up a couple scoreless frames, stranding the potential tying run in scoring position in the sixth by striking out Max Muncy and sending him spiking his bat into the dirt.
From there, the Brewers only needed one more arm.
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras returns to the dugout as Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) slams his bat after striking out to end the sixth inning. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Hard-throwing southpaw Aaron Ashby entered for the seventh and gave up a leadoff double to Andy Pages, but stranded him by striking out Ohtani on three pitches and getting Mookie Betts to bounce one to short.
In the eighth, the Dodgers had life again after Will Smith lined a ball into the right-field corner that kicked away from Sal Frelick, allowing him to reach third with one out. But Ashby buckled down once more, getting Kyle Tucker to hit a shallow fly ball and Teoscar Hernández to strike out swinging.
In the ninth, Ashby returned for a third inning of work, and retired the side in order.
Game, set, match. National League pennant to the Brewers.
Hero: Jake Bauers
If you want to know why this year’s Brewers team is different from the one that got swept by the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS, all you have to do is look at the series MVP winner.
Before this season, Jake Bauers was a journeyman slugger who had never hit better than .235 in a season while playing for five different big-league teams.
But this year, he blossomed in Milwaukee’s player development factory, hitting .266 with 26 home runs and 86 RBIs.
Milwaukee Brewers’ Jake Bauers (9) heads to second base after hitting a two-RBI double against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning in Game 4. Caroline Brehman/UPI/Shutterstock
And this week, he inflicted pain on the Dodgers time and again, following up his pivotal 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, and a go-ahead two-run homer in an 11-pitch battle against Blake Snell in Game 3, with a couple more heroic moments that helped the Brewers overcome their four-run deficit.
In the fourth inning, he hit a two-run ground-rule double that cut the Dodgers’ lead in half. In the fifth, he drew a bases-loaded walk that erased it, giving him an NLCS-best six RBIs in this four-game series.
Like the rest of the Brewers’ relentless lineup, he fought off pitches, worked long at-bats, and kept Dodgers pitching under constant stress.
For a small-market franchise that has had to find different ways –– and undervalued players –– to win, he has been the epitome of their success, and the No. 1 reason this week they won their first pennant in almost half-a-century.
Unsung hero: Pat Murphy
Last year, Pat Murphy tried playing the underdog card against the Dodgers.
This year, the Brewers’ manager implored his club to fight.
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy celebrates on the podium after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The shift in mentality worked. The baseball lifer helped inspire Milwaukee’s NLCS upset, setting the tone for a team that –– at the plate, on the mound, in the field, and on the bases –– did every little thing right to flip this year’s script.
The Brewers’ triumph marked only the second time in MLB history a club had been swept by an opponent in the playoffs one year, then come back to eliminate them the next. This was the first time such a reversal happened with a sweep.
Murphy challenged his team. And they responded.
Stat of the game: Six
That’s how many different times the Dodgers held a lead in this series. Once in Game 1. Three times in Game 2. After Will Smith’s go-ahead sixth-inning double in Game 3. And after Thursday’s four-run outburst in the second.
Every time, Milwaukee answered.
Not once did the Dodgers even stay in front for longer than three innings.
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.
He threw his bat. He screamed. He punched the air. He screamed some more.
With one furious swing, Ohtani unleashed months of pent-up frustration.
His streak of 115 plate appearances without a home run was over.
But this wasn’t a series-altering three-run home run.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) hits a home run at the bottom of the second inning during NLCS Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Carlin Stiehl for CA Post
As they did throughout this National League Championship Series, the Brewers pressed and pressed and pressed. Little by little, the Dodgers gave in.
By the sixth inning, the Dodgers were behind. Three innings later, they were officially eliminated from the playoffs when Kiké Hernández flied out to left field against Aaron Ashby for the final out of a 6-4 defeat at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers didn’t just lose.
They were swept in four games by the same team they swept at this stage of the postseason last year.
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Kik&e3; Hern&a1;ndez, left, leaves the field after making the final out as the Milwaukee Brewers celebrate with pitcher Aaron Ashby, center, after Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Now, comes the hard part.
The Dodgers might be the second-best team in baseball behind the Brewers, but they can’t return with a similar roster next season and expect the results to be any different.
Farewells are in order.
Farewell to long-time Dodgers who will forever be known in these parts as World Series heroes.
Farewell to Ohtani hitting and pitching full-time.
With how the Dodgers were thumped by the Brewers, president of baseball operation Andrew Friedman has a clear directive.
Adjust – or else.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches from the dugout during the ninth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
The Dodgers have the oldest team in the major leagues. First baseman Freddie Freeman and infielder Miguel Rojas are 37. Third baseman Max Muncy is 36 and utilityman Kiké Hernández is 35. Shortstop Mookie Betts and outfielder Teoscar Hernández are 34.
The problem is magnified by their prime-aged players, who are breaking down as if they are senior citizens.
Ohtani, 32, was obviously debilitated in the postseason, which explains why a former 50-homer player wasn’t a power threat for the majority of these playoffs.
Catcher Will Smith, 31, was sidelined for three months with a disc problem, which contributed to him being out of sorts in the batter’s box.
Utilityman Tommy Edman, also 31, is an All-Star-caliber player when healthy – but he often isn’t.
Kyle Tucker, 29, flat-out stunk for the majority of the first season of his four-year, $240-million contract.
From left, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, third baseman Max Muncy, third baseman Kiké Hernández, and first baseman Freddie Freeman stand together during a pitching change during the fourth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
What Friedman and others in the front office will have to decide in the coming weeks and months is how quickly and drastically they will turn over the roster.
The Dodgers shopped Teoscar Hernández last offseason, and they figure to do so again this offseason, as they already have a promising in-house replacement for him in left field in 21-year-old rookie Josue De Paula. Hernández has only one more guaranteed year remaining on his contract.
But what do the Dodgers do beyond that?
Do they attempt to move some of their other veterans? Or do they field more or less the same team next season, accept the limitations of their roster, and wait for some of their contracts to expire in another year?
Freeman will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2027 season. Muncy could also depart that winter, as his option for the 2028 season is a team option.
There are no simple answers.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, left, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani after Ohtani’s three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the second inning of Game 4 of the NLCS Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. Wally Skalij for the CA Post
Muncy’s option for 2028 is a relative bargain at $10 million, for example. The Dodgers might not be able to find a better third baseman at that price point.
Or, in the case of Freeman, how can they not re-sign a player as beloved as he is?
One factor that could influence the Dodgers’ team-building approach: Baseball’s next collective-bargaining agreement.
More restrictive spending limits of some kind figure to be on their way, as franchise owners are pushing for a salary cap. The Dodgers could be forced to dump salaries whether they want to or not.
Whatever happens on that front, the Dodgers will have to address Ohtani’s situation.
Ohtani broke into Japan’s top league as an 18 year old. He was a two-way player in the five seasons he played for the Nippon-Ham Fighters, and his body has plenty of mileage on it.
A Los Angeles Dodgers fan looks down during the eighth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
This season was particularly demanding.
Last year, resumed pitching in the middle of the season after recovering from his second major elbow operation. This year, he attempted to be a full-time hitter and pitcher for the entire season.
Ohtani broke down. He abandoned pitching in the middle of the season. The resulting injuries diminished him as a hitter.
Knowing Ohtani will insist on remaining a two-way player, what do the Dodgers do?
Do they spread out his starts to extend the periods between his starts? Or do they try to sell him on the idea that by not pitching in the early parts of the season, he could be a two-way player in October?
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.
The Dodgers’ reign atop Major League Baseball officially ended at 8:08 p.m. Thursday night.
Kiké Hernández hit a line drive to left. Jackson Chourio caught it on the run. And instead of a World Series three-peat, the Dodgers saw their dynasty end in the most futile fashion.
With a 6-4 loss in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, the two-time defending champions were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell celebrates his solo home run with Cooper Pratt during the sixth inning of Game 4 of a baseball National League Championship Series game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Ashley LandisMilwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras returns to the dugout as Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) slams his bat after striking out to end the sixth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
No World Series three-peat. No historic march to baseball immortality. Just a fourth-straight loss and an embarrassing elimination that will send the Dodgers into a long, regretful winter full of future uncertainty.
This team’s season was not supposed to end like this.
Not after they entered the year coming off back-to-back championships. Not after they amassed the league’s most talented –– and expensive –– roster with a record-setting $432 million payroll. And certainly not after the way Game 4 started, when the Dodgers jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a cathartic three-run blast from the previously slumping Shohei Ohtani.
At that point, it felt like the tide just might be starting to turn.
Shohei Ohtani (17) of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning in game four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Getty ImagesShohei Ohtani (17) of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Getty Images
All month, the Dodgers had waited for an injury-hampered Ohtani to look like himself at the plate. All week, they had waited for their offense to show any genuine sign of life against a dominant Brewers pitching staff.
Finally, after returning to his customary leadoff spot of the lineup for the first time this postseason, Ohtani took care of both, belting a 428-foot bomb for his first home run since Aug. 18.
As had been the case throughout this one-sided series, however, the Brewers regrouped, then came roaring back.
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Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell connects for a solo home run during the sixth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Gregory BullMilwaukee Brewers third baseman David Hamilton (6) greets Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich (22) after scoring on a base loaded walk by Jake Bauers during the fifth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. AP Photo/Ashley Landis
It started in the top of the fourth, when Tyler Glasnow –– having retired his first 10 batters, six via strikeout –– gave up a walk, then back-to-back ground-rule doubles, the latter coming from NLCS MVP Jake Bauers to score two runs and cut the Dodgers’ lead in half.
An inning later, the cushion would be gone, with Milwaukee going full BrewerBall to stun the Dodger Stadium crowd.
Though left-hander Alex Vesia was warm, manager Dave Roberts tried to sneak Glasnow through the left-handed-heavy bottom of the Brewers’ order. It didn’t work. Sal Frelick walked, stole second, then scored on a David Hamilton single. At that point, Roberts summoned right-hander Evan Phillips, but watched him issue two more free passes to load the bases.
That finally brought Vesia into the game. But he couldn’t find the strike zone.
With Bauers at the plate again, the southpaw missed on four-straight pitches to walk in the tying run.
Just like that, Milwaukee had snatched the momentum right back, erasing the sixth different Dodgers’ lead of this series.
In the top of the sixth, they’d go in front for good on Garrett Mitchell’s solo home run against Tanner Scott.
The Los Angeles Dodgers watch during the eighth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Ashley LandisA Los Angeles Dodgers fan looks down during the eighth inning of Game 4 of baseball’s National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
That was this NLCS in a nutshell. The Brewers responded to every moment of adversity. The Dodgers withered in the face of every setback of their own.
The magic from the last two Octobers? Nowhere to be found.
The energy that had pulsed through this franchise over the last two years? Long gone, as another less-than-capacity crowd –– Thursday’s attendance was just 49,104 –– once again showed.
Where the Dodgers go from here is just as much of a mystery.
Their aging roster will be another year older. Important veteran role players like Miguel Rojas (who is likely to retire) and Kiké Hernández (who will be a free agent) could be gone.
Add in the uncertainty of a looming labor battle, and a new collective-bargaining agreement that could bring profound changes to the sport’s financial structure, and it’s possible an ever larger-scale retooling could be in order.
That’s why this year’s run was so precious; with the Dodgers not only chasing history, but trying to prolong what felt like a potential last dance with this veteran core.
They won 100 games in the regular season. They captured a 13th NL West crown in the last 14 years.
But all that really mattered was completing their World Series three-peat.
