The Milwaukee Brewers are going to the World Series for the first time since 1982, and now baseball’s biggest question is who they will face. After completing a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, Milwaukee must wait while the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays settle the American League Championship Series this weekend.
Thursday’s 6-4 Game 4 win at Dodger Stadium sealed the Brewers’ revenge. A year after being swept by the Dodgers in the NLCS, Milwaukee turned the tables, rallying from a 4-0 second-inning deficit. Shohei Ohtani’s three-run homer had the defending champions dreaming of a comeback, but Garrett Mitchell’s go-ahead homer in the sixth and David Hamilton’s ninth-inning insurance shot ended the Dodgers’ bid for a third straight championship.
Cleveland holds the edge in the ALCS
The Guardians took a 2-1 series lead on Thursday with a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay at Progressive Field. Petey Halpin’s two-run homer in the fifth proved decisive after Cleveland had fallen behind in the fourth, and closer Cade Smith protected the one-run lead to move the Guardians within two wins of the Fall Classic. Gavin Williams struck out nine over five innings for Cleveland.
Milwaukee, which went 103-59 in the regular season, will host the World Series opener on October 23. For now, the Dodgers–Brewers NLCS is history, and the pennant rematch that defined the National League race gives way to the American League decider.
What the weekend holds
Game 4 of the ALCS is Friday night in Cleveland at 8pm Eastern, with Game 5 on Saturday night. The earliest Cleveland can clinch the pennant is Saturday; if Tampa Bay forces the series back south, Games 6 and 7 would be played Monday and Tuesday at Tropicana Field.
Either way, Milwaukee’s opponent will be confirmed by the end of the weekend — setting up a Fall Classic that guarantees a long-suffering champion, whether it is the Guardians, the Rays, or the Brewers themselves.
