World Series Bound: Brewers Sweep Dodgers in NLCS

The Milwaukee Brewers are going to the World Series for the first time since 1982. Milwaukee finished a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night with a 6-4 win in the finale of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium, erasing an early deficit to end the reign of the back-to-back defending champions.

Shohei Ohtani gave the home crowd early hope with a three-run homer in the second inning, his first in 115 plate appearances, and the Dodgers built a four-run lead that looked safe. Ohtani was back in the leadoff spot, where he had not batted since Sept. 27, and he unloaded on a cutter from former teammate Dustin May.

Milwaukee answered the way it has all October. Jake Bauers started the comeback with a two-run double in the fifth and drew a bases-loaded walk that tied the score, and Garrett Mitchell crushed a go-ahead home run in the sixth, a 409-foot shot off left-hander Tanner Scott, to give the Brewers the lead for good. David Hamilton, batting ninth in the order, added an insurance solo homer off Edwin Diaz in the ninth. Mitchell, the 28-year-old outfielder, said he was excited to head home and celebrate with the fans, according to the Associated Press. Hamilton had hit only a modest number of home runs in the regular season. Aaron Ashby finished the game for his second save of the postseason, and Milwaukee relievers held the Dodgers scoreless over the final seven innings while a vocal group of Brewers fans made itself heard in the Dodger Stadium stands.

Bauers was named the most valuable player of the series after going 4-for-14 with six RBIs and a .286 series average, according to Field Level Media. JoJo Romero provided scoreless relief in the middle innings, according to Field Level Media. He said the result carried extra meaning after the Dodgers swept Milwaukee out of the playoffs a year earlier, describing Los Angeles as "a bunch of Hall of Famers" and his own club as "gamers." The Brewers became the first club to complete a postseason sweep against the same opponent that had swept them the previous October.

How Milwaukee erased the early deficit

Manager Pat Murphy said the Brewers arrived "hungry" and, with an even playing field, gave their best shot to win, according to the Associated Press. Captain Christian Yelich said the dugout stayed together after falling behind early and kept chipping away, calling the rally "a great story." Reliever Aaron Ashby said the team played with a chip on its shoulder after last year's sweep. Milwaukee's surge through this year's NLCS was powered by a bullpen that repeatedly shut down one of baseball's most expensive lineups, and by a lineup that kept answering in the middle innings. Catcher William Contreras called a bullpen game that kept Los Angeles quiet after the second inning, according to Field Level Media.

The Brewers topped the majors with 103 wins in the regular season, The sweep capped a season in which the small-market club kept beating teams built on far bigger payrolls. It was also the latest jolt in a postseason full of surprises across sports.

What the sweep ends, and what starts next

Milwaukee's only previous trip to the Fall Classic came in 1982, when the franchise played in the American League and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers had been chasing a third straight championship. Los Angeles' championship defense is over, and the club now faces an offseason of hard questions. Ohtani played through knee inflammation and biceps discomfort for much of the year and has not pitched since July 3, yet he stayed in the lineup through the series and delivered the home run that briefly put the Dodgers in front.

The Brewers now get a week off before hosting the winner of the American League pennant race between Cleveland and Tampa Bay when the championship round opens on Oct. 23, reported by NBC Sports. The full account of the clincher was published by the Associated Press.