“We lay down early and thought: This is going to be a great story if we come back and win this,” Brewers player Christian Yelich said after the victory.
The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 in Game 4 of the MLB semifinals at Dodger Stadium, completing a 4-0 sweep to advance to the World Series for the first time in 44 years.
Milwaukee’s victory ended a 44-year wait since the franchise’s only previous World Series appearance in 1982, when they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. For the Dodgers, the loss dashed hopes of a historic title hat-trick following World Series titles in the two previous seasons.
Dodgers Build Early Lead Before Brewers Rally
Los Angeles jumped ahead in the second inning when Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run home run, fueling an early 4-0 advantage.
The Brewers chipped away in the middle frames, scoring two runs in the fourth inning before tying the contest at 4-4 in the fifth. Garrett Mitchell broke the tie in the sixth inning by driving a home run over the fence to give Milwaukee a 5-4 edge, and David Hamilton added an insurance run in the ninth.
The Dodgers struggled to generate offensive momentum throughout the series after dropping Game 1 by a 1-2 score in Milwaukee. While Los Angeles swept the Brewers in four games during the previous season’s semifinals, Milwaukee returned the favor this year by limiting the Dodgers’ lineup.
Managers and Players React to the Sweep
“We didn’t have any doubts about what was going to happen tonight. We knew we were going to win this game,” Brewers player Jake Bauers said after the final out.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed his clubhouse after the elimination. “I’m not used to those kinds of pep talks,” Roberts said. “I told our guys there are no excuses, no ‘I’m sorry.’ We gave everything we had, and it wasn’t enough. That’s just life.”
The defeat halts the Dodgers’ pursuit of replicating the New York Yankees’ run of three consecutive titles between 1998 and 2000. Milwaukee advances to face the winner of the second semifinal between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians.
