The Milwaukee Brewers are heading to the World Series for the first time in 44 years, and they did it by turning the Los Angeles Dodgers’ own script back on them.
Milwaukee finished off a four-game sweep Thursday night with a 6-4 win in Game 4, erasing the sting of last year’s NLCS sweep at the hands of the Dodgers and sending the Brewers into the Fall Classic. Christian Yelich said the group never lost sight of what was possible.
“You have to have that faith, and you have to have, like, the belief that you know this group can get it done,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich said. “It's hard.
But like I’ve said throughout this series, it's hard to draw comparisons from year to year. This team's different than last year's team.”
The game looked rough early for Milwaukee. Los Angeles exploded for four runs in the second inning, with Shohei Ohtani delivering the big blow - a three-run home run that put the Dodgers ahead 4-0.
But the Brewers didn’t blink. They chipped away, answered with four straight runs, and then Garrett Mitchell delivered the swing that flipped everything with a go-ahead solo homer off Tanner Scott in the sixth.
David Hamilton added even more cushion in the ninth with a solo shot of his own.
Sal Frelick said the Brewers’ offense wasn’t built around chasing homers, even if the ball did leave the yard plenty in Game 4.
"It’s funny, we are hitting some homers, but that’s not the approach at the plate," outfielder Sal Frelick said. "It’s just: apply pressure, apply pressure. I think by applying pressure, we’re able to dictate that pace of play.
"It’s not result-oriented, it’s just at-bat oriented. It doesn’t matter if you get out, get on, strike out, whatever. Just take a chunk of the pitcher with you and establish (a style of) playing that way."
The Dodgers’ problems stretched well beyond one inning or one missed chance. Over the four games, they stranded 24 runners and went just 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position, a .148 clip. Game 4 was especially frustrating, with Los Angeles leaving five men on base and failing to cash in on multiple late opportunities.
Milwaukee’s pitching staff helped make sure those missed chances mattered. Rookie Shane Drohan got the Game 4 start in his postseason debut and worked one inning, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out one. Dustin May followed in the second and ran into trouble against his former club, giving up three runs on four hits over three innings.
The Brewers settled in after that. JoJo Romero came on in the fifth and gave Milwaukee two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three to pick up the win. Aaron Ashby handled the final stretch, throwing three scoreless innings in the seventh through ninth, allowing two hits, striking out three and not walking a batter.
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