Brewers rally past Dodgers 6-4 to sweep NLCS and reach World Series

Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, Aaron Ashby pitched three scoreless innings for the save and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 Thursday night to sweep the National League Championship Series.

Milwaukee erased a four-run deficit at Dodger Stadium and secured its first World Series appearance since 1982. Jake Bauers drove in three runs, David Hamilton added a ninth-inning homer and the Brewers held Los Angeles scoreless over the final seven innings.

Mitchell broke a 4-4 tie by driving Tanner Scott’s full-count, 97 mph fastball 409 feet to center to open the sixth. It was Milwaukee’s fourth hit of the game and gave the Brewers a lead they never surrendered.

Ashby took over in the seventh with a one-run cushion and immediately faced trouble. Andy Pages doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on Enrique Hernández’s sacrifice bunt. Ashby struck out Shohei Ohtani and got Mookie Betts to ground out, stranding the tying run.

The Dodgers had another chance in the eighth. Will Smith doubled with one out and reached third when right fielder Sal Frelick mishandled the ball. Ashby escaped again, retiring Kyle Tucker on a flyout and striking out Teoscar Hernández. Neither of those late runners at third scored.

Hamilton gave Milwaukee insurance with two outs in the ninth, hitting Edwin Díaz’s pitch 402 feet to right-center. Ashby then retired Tommy Edman, Pages and Enrique Hernández in order, with the final lineout settling into Jackson Chourio’s glove in left.

Ashby allowed two hits, struck out three and did not walk a batter in his 39-pitch save. JoJo Romero, credited with the win, had worked two scoreless innings before him, striking out three and allowing one hit.

Los Angeles had taken control in the second. Pages singled home Tucker for the first run, and Ohtani followed later in the inning with a 428-foot, three-run homer off Dustin May. The Dodgers led 4-0 after Ohtani’s first homer following a 25-game drought.

Milwaukee began cutting into that lead in the fourth. Brice Turang walked, William Contreras doubled and Bauers doubled them both home. In the fifth, Frelick walked and stole second before Hamilton singled him in, trimming the deficit to one.

Evan Phillips replaced Tyler Glasnow and recorded an out before Hamilton stole second. Phillips intentionally walked Turang, then walked Contreras to load the bases. Alex Vesia entered and walked Bauers, forcing home the tying run. Milwaukee scored twice in the inning on one hit.

Glasnow was charged with four runs in 4⅓ innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out six. Brewers opener Shane Drohan worked into the second without recording an out there, and May covered the next three innings before Romero and Ashby finished the game.

Hamilton had two of Milwaukee’s five hits. The Dodgers finished with eight, including two each from Tucker and Pages, but could not add to their second-inning total. Milwaukee will face the winner of the Cleveland–Tampa Bay ALCS; Cleveland leads that series 2-1.

Sources

• MLB: Brewers-Dodgers official final
• ESPN: NLCS Game 4 final box score and play-by-play
• ESPN: NLCS live reporting from Los Angeles

Additional sources

ESPN/Alden Gonzalez: Ohtani ends home-run drought