The Milwaukee Brewers have put together one of the most dominant postseason performances in recent memory so far. From getting swept just a year ago to sweeping the exact same team the next year, the Brewers have reached their first World Series since 1982, seeking their first World Series ring in franchise history.
Escaping the first game with a close 2-1 victory, Reliever D.L. Hall picked up the win, and lights-out closer Trevor Megill earned another save. The bats didn't wake up until Game 2, with both teams starting the scoring early, putting up one run each in the first inning.
Superstar starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto struggled in his outing, where he couldn't escape the third inning. He finished allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks. On the other side, Milwaukee's rookie Logan Henderson went a solid four innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits.
Catcher William Contreras was the spark behind the offense in Game 2 for Milwaukee. He went 3-for-5 on the day, hitting an RBI single in the first, homering in the fifth, and hitting another RBI single in the sixth. Getting some help from bats in the bottom half of the lineup was crucial for Milwaukee in the series. Some notable names are Garrett Mitchell, Cooper Pratt, and David Hamilton.
The Brewers' bullpen has been unstoppable throughout this postseason run. In Game 2, they shutout the Dodgers in the last three innings, not giving them a chance to come back. You would think shifting the series to Los Angeles would have given the Dodgers a little momentum down 2-0 in the series, right? Well, quite the opposite happened.
On the very first pitch in L.A., Jackson Chourio hit an opposite-field home run to get the party started early. Milwaukee starter Robert Gasser threw five shutout innings, while Blake Snell went a longer six innings, but allowed four earned runs on four hits. Three of those runs included back-to-back bombs from two lefties in Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell. These were the first two home runs that Snell had allowed all season long. Game 3 ended with D.L. Hall earning another win and Trevor Megill earning another save.
This brings us to Game 4, where the Dodgers, believe it or not, came ready to play. Andy Pages drove in a run in the first inning, and Shohei Ohtani delivered a 428-foot three-run blast to increase the Dodgers' lead to 4-0. This lead lasted until the fourth inning, when Jake Bauers hit a ground-rule double, cutting the deficit in half, then tied it in the next inning on a bases-loaded walk.
With the score at four apiece entering the fifth inning, Milwaukee had the momentum, handing the ball over to the two most reliable arms in their bullpen. Southpaws JoJo Romero and Aaron Ashby delivered one of the most dominant single-game postseason performances in the history of the game.
JoJo tossed two shutout innings, striking out three on just one hit. Aaron Ashby appeared in the seventh inning, and that was the last pitcher L.A. saw for the rest of the game. Yes, you heard that correctly. A nine-out save clinched the NL Pennant and a World Series appearance for the Brewers. Ashby tossed three shutout innings, striking out three on just two hits. A performance like this is something that this game has hardly ever seen before.
A couple late homers in the sixth and ninth innings by Garrett Mitchell and David Hamilton were the icing on the cake for this red-hot Milwaukee squad. They will await the ALCS champion to be crowned between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians.
The series is entering Game 4 with the Guardians maintaining a 2-1 lead currently. Milwaukee will host Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, Oct. 23, on FOX.