MILWAUKEE - The Brewers spent much of Game 4 working through the same kind of tension that had defined the whole series, but they finally created some daylight in the sixth inning and never let the Padres fully close the gap. Jake Bauers singled to open the frame, Cooper Pratt followed with an automatic double, and Sal Frelick capped the rally with a sacrifice fly that brought Bauers home and pushed Milwaukee ahead by two.
That margin proved to be plenty in a series where every run felt heavy. It also fit the Brewers’ night: Bauers, after a rough series, gave them exactly what they needed with two walks in his first two plate appearances and a much steadier overall performance.
He even helped erase an early throwing error by Pratt. Pratt, who had already made more than one bad throw and was struggling at the plate, came through with the double that helped start the decisive rally.
Frelick, whose walk and baserunning helped fuel the Game 2 comeback, finished the final scoring push with a batted ball that was just enough to get the job done.
The Brewers’ pitching gave that lead room to breathe. Robert Gasser worked four innings and kept moving through trouble despite shaky defense behind him.
Joey Ortiz was slow charging on a Manny Machado bunt single and then passed up a throw on a potential inning-ending 5-3 double play, but Gasser kept the damage from piling up. Aaron Ashby followed and was even sharper, covering three nearly spotless innings with his power sinker and high-spin curveball both working.
Once Ashby took over, the game settled into Milwaukee’s control.
It still almost slipped away in the eighth. Abner Uribe opened the inning by walking Fernando Tatis Jr., then recovered to strike out Jackson Merrill.
Machado came up next and got a sinker on the inner half, turning it into a deep drive that threatened to erase Milwaukee’s edge. Garrett Mitchell had other ideas.
Playing deep, he tracked the ball to the wall just right of straightaway center at Petco Park, went up with both hands, and made the catch while absorbing contact from fans reaching over the fence. One harmless foul pop-up later, thanks to Brice Turang and Bauers communicating well on an in-between ball, the Brewers were back in the dugout and six outs from advancing.
Mitchell’s catch was only part of his night. He also delivered a leadoff triple in the fifth and scored what was officially the winning run.
After looking overmatched in the first three games, he was all over Game 4. For a player whose future was in doubt because of chronic injury issues, it was a huge moment.
The Brewers tendered him a contract at the November deadline after weighing whether to do so, and now he’s back in the middle of a playoff run after more than doubling his career playing time this season.
The whole series was tight from start to finish. Of the 300 plate appearances across the four games, fewer than 20% came with either team leading by two runs, and no one ever led by more than that.
Before Frelick’s sacrifice fly in the sixth on Wednesday, there had been only 30 plate appearances in the series with a two-run cushion, most of them in the first three innings of Game 1. Every inning felt like it could swing the other way.
Milwaukee made plenty of mistakes along the way, and so did San Diego. There were bad at-bats, missed chances, and plays that never quite got made cleanly. But the series will be remembered more for the moments that landed: Jackson Chourio’s walkoff single in Game 2, Chourio and William Contreras homering to win Game 1, and Mitchell’s heroics in Game 4.
It also gave the Brewers something bigger. They hadn’t beaten a team outside the NL Central in a playoff series since 2018, and they hadn’t won a road playoff game since then either.
Now they’ve cleared both hurdles and moved on to the NLCS against the Dodgers, who finished off the team from outside Atlanta Wednesday night. Milwaukee heads into that matchup looking like a more complete challenger to the two-time defending champions, with a chance to finally chase its first National League pennant.
In Other News...
Wisconsin's Frontcourt Suddenly Carries A Bigger Burden Than Expected
Wisconsin entered the summer expecting its frontcourt to be a strength, but the offseason has looked different than planned. Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp have both missed significant practice time because of injuries and surgeries, leaving the Badgers to lean more heavily on size, defense and development work as they try to rebound from last seasons early NCAA Tournament exit.
The silver lining has been extra runway for Will Garlock and Victory Onuetu, two players who have taken advantage of the opening and made noticeable progress over the summer. Even so, the Badgers still do not have clarity on Winter and Rapp for the upcoming exhibition game, which keeps the frontcourt picture a little unsettled just as Wisconsin wants to establish a stronger interior foundation. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin's Bye Week Comes With A Big Ten Reality Check
Wisconsins lone bye week arrives in Week 6 with the Badgers riding a four-game winning streak, but it also serves as a reminder that the schedule is about to get a lot less forgiving. The break gives the staff a chance to regroup and reset after a strong start, even as the next month looms with a heavier dose of Big Ten pressure and a chance to see where Wisconsin really stands.
UCLA, USC and Iowa headline the stretch that follows, a run that should say plenty about the caliber of the competition ahead and how the league race is taking shape. The Bruins and Trojans bring fresh Big Ten intrigue, while Iowa remains the kind of familiar test that can still expose any soft spots, making this bye week feel less like downtime and more like the calm before a real reality check. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin's Transfer Debate Is Already Heating Up Through Five Games
Through five games, Wisconsins transfer class is already shaping the way this season is being judged. A fresh ranking of the top seven incoming additions puts several names in the spotlight on both sides of the ball, with quarterback Colton Joseph, defensive backs Javan Robinson and Jacob Harris, and other newcomers helping define what the Badgers have gotten out of the portal so far. For a team trying to balance immediate production with longer-term roster building, the early returns offer a useful snapshot of where the staff hit and where it still has work to do.
The evaluation also makes clear that this group is not finished taking shape. Some transfers have already carved out real roles, while others are still working back toward full health and could factor in more heavily as the season moves along. That leaves the conversation open-ended in a way Wisconsin fans know well: the early standings in any transfer debate can change fast once the schedule tightens and the depth chart starts to settle. [Read more 🡒]