The Milwaukee Brewers have reclaimed the National League pennant after a 44-year wait. Their breakthrough came Thursday at Dodger Stadium, where they erased a four-run deficit and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
The victory completed a four-game sweep of the two-time defending World Series champions and sent Milwaukee to its second World Series in franchise history. Game 1 of the Fall Classic is scheduled for October 23 on FOX, with the Brewers set to host the opening game.
A Comeback That Ended Los Angeles’ Three-Peat Bid
The Dodgers appeared to be in control after building a 4-0 lead, but Milwaukee steadily changed the game’s direction. The Brewers’ bullpen kept Los Angeles off the scoreboard while the offence chipped away, setting up a dramatic finish in the late innings.
Milwaukee completed its fourth consecutive comeback of the series. The club’s resilience proved more decisive than Los Angeles’ star power, ending the Dodgers’ attempt to win three World Series championships in a row.
- Garrett Mitchell put Milwaukee ahead with a solo home run in the sixth inning.
- David Hamilton delivered an insurance homer in the ninth.
- Aaron Ashby worked three scoreless innings to preserve the lead and finish the game.
- Jackson Chourio caught the final deep fly near the left-field warning track.
As Chourio secured the last out, Brewers broadcaster Jeff Levering delivered an emotional call from the booth. His celebration echoed through Dodger Stadium as Milwaukee officially won the National League pennant.
The Power Surprise Behind the Four-Game Sweep
Los Angeles was expected to hold the advantage in power hitting, but Milwaukee flipped that expectation during the championship series. The Brewers hit seven home runs to the Dodgers’ one, with the decisive long balls arriving at crucial moments rather than piling up in meaningless situations.
Mitchell’s sixth-inning blast broke the tie in the clincher, while Hamilton’s ninth-inning shot gave the pitching staff valuable breathing room. Those swings capped an offence that had usually relied on pressure, contact and aggressive baserunning instead of overwhelming home-run totals.
During the regular season, Milwaukee ranked near the bottom of the majors in home runs but still scored the second-most runs in baseball. Outfielder Sal Frelick has described the club’s approach as wearing pitchers down through relentless at-bats. Against Los Angeles, that patient identity was joined by an unexpected burst of power.
Christian Yelich Finally Gets Beyond the Dodgers
For Christian Yelich, the pennant represented more than a trip to the World Series. The veteran had watched Los Angeles end Milwaukee’s season three times during his tenure with the club.
- In 2018, the Dodgers won Game 7 of the NLCS, with Chris Taylor making a memorable catch in left field.
- Los Angeles eliminated Milwaukee again during the 2020 post-season.
- In 2025, the Dodgers swept the Brewers in four games in the NLCS.
Yelich joined Milwaukee in 2018 as the organization entered its current era of sustained success. This season, the club named him captain, a decision that recognized both his experience and his importance inside the clubhouse.
Throughout the year, Yelich maintained that the new team should not be defined by the previous season’s disappointment. After the clinching win, he pointed to the players’ trust in one another and their continued belief that this group could complete the job against Los Angeles.
From a Misremembered Broadcast to a New Generation
Milwaukee’s latest celebration also revived memories of the 1982 pennant. Many fans have traditionally attributed the famous call “Milwaukee, you have a World Series!” to the late Bob Uecker, but that history is slightly different.
Uecker left the radio booth late in Game 5 of the 1982 American League Championship Series to prepare the clubhouse celebration. When Rod Carew grounded the ball to Robin Yount, and Yount threw to Cecil Cooper for the final out, Uecker’s broadcast partner Dwayne Mosley made the iconic announcement as fans rushed onto the field.
For decades, the phrase represented a moment that Milwaukee supporters could remember but not relive. Jeff Levering now has his own signature call after Chourio’s catch confirmed that the World Series would return to Wisconsin.
A Historic Season Built on Persistence
The Brewers entered Thursday’s game having already assembled the winningest regular season in franchise history. Their championship run has continued that pace through increasingly difficult opponents.
- Milwaukee won 103 regular-season games, the best record in the majors.
- The Brewers defeated San Diego three games to none in the NLDS, overcoming a Padres team that had posted baseball’s strongest record after the All-Star break.
- The club swept Los Angeles in four NLCS games, winning each contest after falling behind.
- Milwaukee became the first team to answer a previous post-season sweep by sweeping that same opponent the following October.
Thursday was Milwaukee’s 170th meaningful game of 2026, and the Brewers had won 110 of those contests. Four additional victories would give the franchise its first World Series championship.
The comeback pattern has been especially unusual. Milwaukee became the first club to win six comeback games within its first eight games of a post-season, an achievement that reflects both its depth and its refusal to panic when games turned against it.
The Franchise Turnaround Behind the Celebration
The pennant is the latest result of a transformation that has unfolded over many years. After promising playoff appearances in 2008 and 2011, the organization entered a difficult stretch that included a second-half collapse in 2014, a managerial change in 2015 and significant turnover among players and executives.
The frustration became visible in an unusual way after a pair of wins in early May. A fan left a cake with blue icing at the reception desk of the ballpark, sarcastically celebrating that Milwaukee was no longer the worst team in Major League Baseball. Some employees still ate it, despite the message behind it.
Assistant general manager Karl Mueller joined the Brewers in 2004 as one of Ned Yost’s analytically inclined scouting assistants, evaluating players from VHS recordings. He acknowledged that reaching the World Series was difficult to absorb after witnessing so many stages of the organization’s rebuild.
Over the past 10 regular seasons, only the Dodgers, Houston Astros and New York Yankees have posted better winning percentages than Milwaukee. Since Pat Murphy became manager three seasons ago, no team has won more often than the Brewers. President of baseball operations Matt Arnold celebrated the achievement while immediately emphasizing the need to remain focused.
Why the Number 44 Carries Extra Meaning
Owner Mark Attanasio spoke with 92-year-old franchise founder Bud Selig after Milwaukee won Game 3. The call took place at 10:50 p.m. Central time, but Selig was too excited to sleep and repeatedly described the club as remarkable.
When Attanasio’s ownership group purchased the team before the 2005 season, Milwaukee had endured 12 consecutive losing campaigns. A .500 record in the first year felt like a major step forward, and the 2008 Wild Card appearance ended a 26-year post-season drought.
The 44-year gap between World Series appearances also connects the current team to Hank Aaron. Aaron wore No. 44 and hit the final home run of his 755-homer career 50 years ago. Alongside Uecker, he later supported efforts to secure Miller Park and keep the Brewers in Wisconsin’s smallest major-league media market.
Attanasio pointed to several moments that seemed to carry unusual significance:
- Ty France’s fly ball bounced off the roof and landed in Chourio’s glove during NLDS Game 1.
- Mitchell made a difficult catch on a deep drive from Manny Machado to finish the division series.
- Jake Bauers, who chose not to retire in 2024 after learning that his wife was pregnant, produced a breakout season at age 30 and delivered several major NLCS at-bats.
- The Brewers repeatedly recovered from deficits instead of allowing early trouble to define their games.
Supporters Followed the Team Across the Continent
Brewers fans filled sections of Dodger Stadium and stayed after the final out to watch Milwaukee receive the Warren C. Giles Trophy. Their presence underscored the bond between the club and a fan base that has waited since 1982 for another World Series opportunity.
Joe Stolarczyk watched Game 3 at Hog Creek Bar & Grill in Mosinee before deciding around 1 a.m. that he would travel to Los Angeles for the clincher. When friends did not respond, his brother David Stolarczyk and sister Mary Pilz joined the plan. They bought tickets while driving toward a Minneapolis flight and reached seats behind home plate before batting practice ended.
Joe had been living in Alaska during Milwaukee’s 1982 run. Lifelong friends Dave Wuest of Atlanta and Murray Williams of Orange County also made the trip, carrying memories of the 1982 Game 7 loss to St. Louis.
Yelich called the travelling support electric. The Brewers will need that same energy when the World Series opens in Milwaukee, where the franchise will pursue the first championship in its history.
