The Milwaukee Brewers are going to the World Series for the first time since 1982 after completing a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, closing out the defending champions and ending a 44-year pennant drought.
The Brewers won the clincher at home, capping a series in which they never trailed and handing the Dodgers their first playoff sweep since 2015. Milwaukee becomes the first team to punch its ticket to the 2026 Fall Classic, where it will open on the road against the American League champion.
Los Angeles entered the postseason as the betting favorite to repeat, but its lineup managed just nine runs across the four games — the lowest output of any Dodgers playoff series since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Milwaukee's rotation set the tone, with its starters combining for a 1.93 ERA and 27 strikeouts over 23⅓ innings.
The series turned in Game 1, when the Brewers rallied from a 3-0 deficit with a five-run seventh inning at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles never held a lead at any point afterward, and the Brewers outscored the Dodgers 21-9 over the four games.
For Milwaukee, the result reverses a painful recent history against Los Angeles. The Dodgers eliminated the Brewers in the 2018 NLCS in seven games and again in the 2020 wild-card round, and Milwaukee had not won a playoff series against Los Angeles since 1982 — the same year of its only World Series appearance, a seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Dodgers now head into an offseason of questions. Their bullpen allowed 14 earned runs in 13⅔ innings in the series, and the offense went 4-for-31 with runners in scoring position. Manager Dave Roberts, who has led Los Angeles to two titles, is under contract through 2027, but the sweep marks the earliest playoff exit of his tenure.
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy, in his third season, becomes the first Brewers skipper to reach the World Series since Harvey Kuenn. The Brewers went 94-68 in the regular season, winning the NL Central by six games over the Chicago Cubs.
The World Series is scheduled to begin Friday. Milwaukee will have home-field advantage in Games 3, 4 and 5 under the current 2-3-2 format, with the AL champion hosting the first two games.
