The Brewers Are Going Back to the NLCS. This Time, They Want More.
Milwaukee is four wins away from the World Series after eliminating San Diego in four games. But the biggest challenge is still ahead.
The Milwaukee Brewers are headed back to the National League Championship Series.
And this time, simply getting there isn’t going to be enough.
After winning a franchise-record 103 games during the regular season, Milwaukee entered October with expectations considerably higher than just making the playoffs.
Wednesday night, the Brewers took another step toward meeting them.
Milwaukee defeated the San Diego Padres 3–1 in Game 4, winning the NLDS three games to one and setting up another postseason showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It wasn’t always pretty. It certainly wasn’t easy.
But the Brewers found a way to finish the job.
Garrett Mitchell Delivered the Moment of the Series
Jackson Chourio will deservedly receive plenty of attention for his postseason heroics, but Garrett Mitchell might have made the biggest play of Milwaukee’s season.
With the Brewers protecting a 3–1 lead in the eighth inning, Manny Machado drove a ball deep toward center field.
For a moment, it looked like San Diego was about to tie the game.
Mitchell had other plans.
He tracked the ball to the wall and made a remarkable catch, taking away a potential game-tying home run and preserving Milwaukee’s lead.
It was the kind of defensive play that can define an entire postseason run.
And Mitchell’s contributions weren’t limited to his glove.
He delivered an RBI single in the third inning, tripled and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth, and helped create the separation Milwaukee needed.
The Brewers didn’t need a five-run inning or a superstar carrying the entire lineup.
They needed timely hitting, outstanding defense, and someone willing to deliver when the moment demanded it.
Mitchell answered.
Jackson Chourio Is Becoming Milwaukee’s October Star
At just 22 years old, Jackson Chourio is already building quite the postseason résumé.
His walk-off single in Game 2 gave Milwaukee a commanding 2–0 series lead and provided one of the most memorable moments of this postseason.
Then, with Game 4 tied in the fifth inning, Chourio delivered again.
His RBI single brought Mitchell home and gave the Brewers a 2–1 lead they would never surrender.
Two enormous hits in two enormous moments.
It’s one thing to have a talented young player capable of producing during the regular season.
It’s another to have someone who consistently looks comfortable when the stakes are highest.
Chourio is becoming that player.
And for a Milwaukee organization trying to build something sustainable, having a young star who already seems to embrace October is an awfully encouraging development.
Milwaukee’s Pitching Made Sure There Wouldn’t Be a Game 5
After San Diego’s 4–3 victory in Game 3, the Brewers faced an uncomfortable possibility.
Lose another game on the road, and suddenly a series they had controlled would come down to a winner-take-all Game 5.
Instead, Milwaukee’s pitching staff made sure that wouldn’t happen.
Robert Gasser gave the Brewers a competitive start before Aaron Ashby delivered three scoreless innings of relief.
Ashby didn’t allow a hit, striking out three and keeping San Diego from building momentum.
Abner Uribe handled the eighth, with a little spectacular help from Mitchell, before Trevor Megill closed the door in the ninth.
Just as importantly, Milwaukee finally ended its postseason road losing streak, which had reached 12 games dating back to 2018.
That’s a significant hurdle to clear for a team with World Series aspirations.
The Brewers won’t have the luxury of winning every important game at American Family Field.
They needed to prove they could finish a postseason series away from Milwaukee.
Now they have.
The Dodgers Are Waiting. Again.
And here comes the part Brewers fans know all too well.
Los Angeles.
For the second consecutive season, Milwaukee will face the Dodgers in the NLCS.
It’s a matchup that carries considerably more weight than an ordinary postseason series.
The Brewers have spent years building a reputation as one of baseball’s most consistently competitive organizations. They’ve won division titles, developed young talent, and repeatedly found ways to succeed without operating like baseball’s biggest spenders.
But eventually, regular-season success has to become something more.
Last year’s NLCS ended with the Dodgers advancing.
This year, Milwaukee gets another opportunity.
And unlike some previous postseason appearances, the Brewers aren’t entering this matchup simply hoping to pull off an upset.
They won 103 games.
They earned the National League’s top seed.
They just eliminated a dangerous San Diego team that entered October playing excellent baseball.
The Dodgers remain an enormous challenge, but Milwaukee has earned the right to believe it belongs on the same field.
Four Wins From Something Special
There is a tendency to treat every postseason series victory as the culmination of a successful season.
For some teams, that makes sense.
For these Brewers, expectations have changed.
Winning the NL Central is no longer a surprise. Reaching October is no longer enough to define a successful year.
Milwaukee has spent the better part of the last decade establishing itself as a consistent winner.
Now comes the opportunity to turn that consistency into something historic.
The Brewers are four wins away from their first World Series appearance since 1982.
They have a young star delivering in crucial moments, a pitching staff capable of shutting down dangerous lineups, and a roster that continues to find contributions from unexpected places.
They also have unfinished business with the team standing between them and the World Series.
The Brewers are going back to the NLCS.
This time, they need to find a way through it.