LOS ANGELES — David Hamilton was batting ninth. With two outs in the ninth inning Thursday at Dodger Stadium, he sent an Edwin Díaz pitch over the wall.
That solo homer gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 6-4 cushion in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Aaron Ashby, working his third inning, got Kike Hernandez to line out to Jackson Chourio for the final out.
Milwaukee had swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brewers are headed to the World Series for the first time since 1982, when they played in the American League.
The clincher followed the series pattern. Shohei Ohtani’s three-run homer off Dustin May built a 4-0 Dodgers lead in the second inning. Milwaukee answered with back-to-back doubles from William Contreras and MVP Jake Bauers, a Sal Frelick walk and stolen base, a run-scoring single from Hamilton and a bases-loaded walk. Garrett Mitchell’s leadoff homer off Tanner Scott in the sixth put the Brewers ahead for good.
A year after the broom
Last October, the Dodgers swept Milwaukee in the NLCS on their way to a second straight title. The Brewers scored four runs in those four games.
This time they won 2-1, 7-4, 6-2 and 6-4, outscoring Los Angeles 21-11. According to MLB.com, no team had ever swept the club that swept it the previous postseason.
Milwaukee finished the regular season 103-59, according to Baseball-Reference, the best record in the majors. It beat San Diego 3-1 in the Division Series before facing the 100-62 Dodgers.
The Brewers did it with a payroll of about $146.2 million, 19th in the majors, according to Spotrac-based figures. The Dodgers spent about $339.3 million on a roster that included Ohtani, Tarik Skubal, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
The Yankees spent about $308.3 million, third in baseball and more than double Milwaukee. They went 93-68, finished second in the AL East and were swept by Tampa Bay in the AL Division Series.
The Brewers answered their own sweep without chasing star power. That is the case study now facing the Yankees.
How Milwaukee built a 103-win team
Milwaukee’s run differential was plus-214, with 832 runs scored and 618 allowed.
Much of the roster came from within. Rookie pitchers made 77 starts, the most in baseball, according to ESPN. Rookies Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara started in October.
Brice Turang led the club with 7.3 WAR. Jacob Misiorowski added 6.5 WAR, going 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 174 2/3 innings. He led the majors in ERA, strikeouts and WHIP.
The bullpen decided the NLCS. In Game 2, May, JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Ashby retired the last 15 Dodgers in order. Uribe pitched in seven of eight postseason games. Ashby worked more than one inning in five of his six appearances.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts flagged the threat before Game 1.
“You can’t go into a long series against a team that has the best record in baseball and expect to just win four,” Roberts said.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy described the gap from the celebration stage after the clincher.
“They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we have a bunch of gamers,” Murphy said.
He followed with the line that summed up the series.
“And the gamers won this week,” Murphy said.
Christian Yelich, the club’s highest-paid player, credited the clubhouse.
“Just believing in each other, just relying on each other through the good times and the tough times,” Yelich said.
The numbers behind the blueprint
The regular-season gap between the Brewers and Yankees was not pitching. It was the shape of the offense.
2026 regular season: Brewers vs. Yankees vs. Dodgers
| Team | Record | Runs scored | Runs allowed | AVG/OBP/SLG | HR | SB | ERA |
| Brewers | 103-59 | 832 | 618 | .258/.341/.403 | 154 | 162 | 3.51 |
| Yankees | 93-68 | 739 | 601 | .235/.311/.409 | 223 | 153 | 3.24 |
| Dodgers | 100-62 | 801 | 600 | N/A | 204 | 72 | 3.55 |
Source: Baseball-Reference team pages, 2026 regular season.
The Yankees allowed 601 runs, 17 fewer than Milwaukee. Their 3.24 ERA beat the Brewers’ 3.51. Cam Schlittler led the Yankees with 7.0 WAR.
The Brewers still scored 93 more runs. They did it with 69 fewer home runs.
Milwaukee hit .258 with a .341 on-base percentage. The Yankees hit .235 with a .311 on-base percentage. That 30-point OBP gap meant more traffic in front of every hitter.
Both teams ran. Milwaukee stole 162 bases, and the Yankees stole 153. Speed was not the difference. Contact and on-base skill were.
The Yankees struck out 1,480 times. Their offense leaned on 223 homers, and October pitching took that away.
Two sweeps, one mirror
The Yankees’ ALDS looked like Milwaukee’s 2025 NLCS.
They lost 1-0, 5-2 and 4-3, scoring five runs in three games. Two came on Ben Rice’s solo homers in Game 2. The Yankees had one hit in the opener and committed four errors in Game 2. Austin Wells was thrown out at third base trying to stretch a double in Game 1.
The Brewers’ 2025 exit produced four runs in four games. A year later, they manufactured runs against the Dodgers with walks, steals and singles. In Game 2, Contreras drove in the go-ahead run after an errant Dodgers pickoff throw moved Hamilton up.
The Yankees’ Pythagorean record, based on runs scored and allowed, was 96-65, three wins better than their actual mark. That points to a club that underperformed in close games.
What the Yankees can borrow
The first lesson is keeping the run prevention. The Yankees‘ pitching staff already performs at Milwaukee’s level, led by Schlittler and Max Fried, who posted 3.7 WAR. Paul Blackburn added 3.1 WAR in relief and is now a free agent.
The second is bullpen depth trusted for multiple innings. Milwaukee’s relievers covered the innings its young starters could not. The Yankees must replace closer David Bednar and several other free-agent relievers.
The third is lineup construction. Cody Bellinger led Yankees position players with 4.6 WAR, and Rice added 3.7. The roster needs more hitters who reach base without relying on the home run.
Where things stand
“The Brewers have yet to allow a home run or a SB in the NLCS. Just one team has gone an entire best-of-7 postseason series without allowing a home run or SB: 1927 WS Yankees vs PIT,” according to Sarah Langs.
The Brewers will host Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 23. Their opponent is undecided. Cleveland leads Tampa Bay 2-1 in the ALCS after a 3-2 win Thursday, with Game 4 set for Friday at Progressive Field.
The Yankees enter an offseason with payroll, bullpen and lineup decisions. Milwaukee’s numbers show the pitching foundation is already in place. The gap is on-base production.
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