The Dodgers’ NLCS collapse against the Brewers already looked ugly on the surface. A 4-0 sweep is brutal by itself. But the way Los Angeles lost makes it sting even more.
In every single game, the Dodgers got ahead. In every single game, they gave it back. That rare combination turned a bad series into a piece of MLB history, with Jayson Stark of The Athletic noting that it was the first time since the 2015 New York Mets that a team lost a postseason series after leading in all four defeats.
“Fun fact: The last team to blow a lead in all 4 losses of a postseason was the 205 Mets (against the Royals),” Stark shared.
The Mets, in the World Series, at least managed to win one game against Kansas City. The Dodgers never got that far. They were swept without picking up a single victory.
Game 1 started with a little life for Los Angeles when Andy Pages singled home a run in the second inning for a 1-0 edge. Milwaukee answered with a Brice Turang home run and later a Luis Lara single, and that was enough to send the Dodgers to an opening loss.
Game 2 followed a different script, but the same ending. Los Angeles jumped out 1-0 in the first, then watched the Brewers tie it in the bottom of the inning.
The Dodgers briefly moved back ahead in the third, only for Milwaukee to score twice and make it 3-2. Los Angeles answered with two runs in the fifth, but the Brewers tied it again in the bottom half, then went ahead in the sixth and stayed there.
Game 3 again had the Dodgers in front late. Milwaukee opened the scoring, but Will Smith’s double pushed Los Angeles ahead 2-1 in the sixth.
That lead didn’t last. Jake Bauers homered, Garrett Mitchell followed with another homer, and the Brewers finished the job while the Dodgers went silent the rest of the way.
Then came Game 4, the one that looked like it might finally break the pattern. Los Angeles stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning.
It didn’t hold. The offense disappeared again, Milwaukee chipped away, and Mitchell delivered another homer in the sixth to put the Brewers in front for good.
By the time the series ended, the story was unmistakable: four games, four leads, four losses. The Dodgers not only got swept, they did it in a way no team had since those 2015 Mets.
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