Brewers sweep Dodgers, return to World Series
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Juan Beltran, Contributor
- October 16, 2026
Brewers head to the World Series for first time since 1982
LOS ANGELES – With his goggles already on his forehead as the Brewers’ celebration began to slow down late Thursday night inside the visitors’ clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, Jackson Chourio was still in awe of what he and his teammates had just accomplished.
For the first time in 44 years and only the second in franchise history, the Brewers are headed to the World Series. Moreover, Chourio and Co. earned their berth by dispatching the two-time World Series defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Brewers didn’t just beat Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers. They dominated for a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series. Now the focus turns to the World Series, which the Brewers have never won.
“It’s special,” Chourio said as teammates hooped and hollered around him Thursday night. “We know we have a chance to make a lot of people in Milwaukee happy. We’re going to achieve it.”
Chasing first title
The Brewers are heading to the Fall Classic for the first time since they lost a seven-game classic in 1982 against the St. Louis Cardinals. With their comeback 6-4 victory in Game 4, the Brewers became the last of the 15 NL teams to win an NL pennant.
“Those fans, they’re passionate,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Milwaukee fans. “They wanted this, and our players sensed how bad they wanted it. That gives them energy and motivation. It makes a difference.”
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Milwaukee moved from the American League to Senior Circuit in 1998, when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks joined the majors via expansion. The Brewers remained in the NL after MLB restructured in 2013 by moving the Houston Astros to the AL.
Then in 2017, the 2005 NL champion Astros made history as the first team to win pennants in both leagues. The Astros went a step further by winning the World Series that year over the Dodgers.
The Brewers are now the second team to win pennants in both leagues, yet they are one of only five MLB teams without a World Series title. The Rays, who trail the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 in the ALCS, are also chasing their first World Series title. The other teams without a World Series title are the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies.
Home-field advantage
Although the Dodgers had the highest payroll in baseball, the Brewers posted the best record in the majors with 103 victories this season. They own home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The World Series will start at Milwaukee’s American Family Field next Friday night.
“We won the most games in baseball again this year, and it gives us a home-field advantage,” Murphy said. “That does matter. Just because we came out here and won two, that speaks to our group and their resiliency, but the home field does matter.
“This place was loud tonight even without a full house. It was loud tonight when Ohtani hit the homer, and I thought we woke up a giant. I’m like, ‘Oh, God, here we go. You wake up the giant.’ But we had a little JoJo Romero for them and Aaron Ashby for them later on. That did the trick.”
The Brewers have secured six comebacks during the 2026 postseason, becoming the first MLB team to accomplish so many over their first eight victories in a single postseason. Moreover, Milwaukee made history by becoming the first MLB team to have four comebacks to pull off a sweep in a best-of-seven series.
“Truly, it’s incredible,” Chourio said. “It’s a very unique sensation. I’m enjoying it.”
Juan Beltran
Contributor
Juan Beltran, who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador at 5 years old, is an experienced broadcast journalist
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