LOS ANGELES — The Milwaukee Brewers are going back to the World Series. Garrett Mitchell’s go-ahead homer in the sixth inning capped a comeback from a 4-0 deficit, and the Brewers held on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday night at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers Brewers NLCS Game 4 result completes a four-game sweep, ends the back-to-back World Series champions’ bid for a three-peat, and sends Milwaukee to its first World Series since 1982 — making the Brewers the first major league club to sweep a postseason series a year after being swept by that same opponent.

Dodgers Brewers NLCS Game 4 result: final score

Final: Brewers 6, Dodgers 4. After Shohei Ohtani’s three-run homer staked the Dodgers to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, Jake Bauers started the comeback with a two-run double in the fourth, then walked with the bases loaded in the fifth to tie the game at 4-4. With the score tied in the sixth, Mitchell fell behind 0-2 against reliever Tanner Scott before launching a 409-foot leadoff homer to center — his first career home run on an 0-2 count — giving Milwaukee its first lead of the night at 5-4. No. 9 hitter David Hamilton added insurance with a two-out solo shot off Edwin Díaz in the ninth for the 6-4 final. JoJo Romero (2-1) earned the win with two innings of relief, Aaron Ashby closed out the final three frames for his second save of the postseason, and Scott (0-1) took the loss, per Reuters and Sportradar’s box score. Mitchell also homered in Wednesday’s Game 3 win.

Entering Thursday, Milwaukee led the best-of-seven series 3-0 after Wednesday night’s 6-2 Game 3 win, putting the Brewers one victory from the franchise’s first National League pennant and its first World Series trip since 1982, according to Fox Sports. The Dodgers were facing elimination and trying to become the first team since the 2004 Boston Red Sox to climb out of a 3-0 postseason hole, per USA Today.

Ohtani moved to leadoff — and ends his home-run drought in style

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made a dramatic lineup change with the season on the line: Shohei Ohtani, who batted sixth in Game 3 — the lowest he has started a game since 2020 — was moved to the leadoff spot for the first time this postseason, according to EssentiallySports. The move drew skepticism from fans online, with some calling it “absolute desperation,” per the outlet.

It paid off immediately. After Brewers opener Shane Drohan struck Ohtani out to begin the bottom of the first — but then walked Mookie Betts and Will Smith before Smith grounded into a double play — the Dodgers broke through in the second. Andy Pages singled home the game’s first run, and then Ohtani obliterated a pitch from reliever Dustin May for a three-run homer, staking Los Angeles to a 4-0 lead, USA Today reported in its live blog.

It was Ohtani’s first home run of the postseason and his first in a game since Aug. 18. And his reaction said everything: as he tossed his bat, he screamed and pumped his arms in celebration — an unusually emotional display from the four-time MVP, according to For The Win.

Roberts explained the lineup gamble before the game, telling reporters, per ESPN via EssentiallySports: “I feel good about him taking five at-bats and giving us our best chance to win and produce runs today.” Entering Game 4, Ohtani had managed only four singles in 22 postseason at-bats, while the Dodgers as a team were slashing .188/.264/.308 with a .572 OPS in the playoffs, according to EssentiallySports.

Glasnow vs. the Brewers’ bullpen game

On the mound, the Dodgers turned to right-hander Tyler Glasnow (5-2, 3.53 ERA in 13 regular-season starts) to keep their season alive, while the Brewers countered with a bullpen game opened by left-hander Shane Drohan — his first appearance of the postseason, per USA Today and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Glasnow was brilliant early, retiring the first 10 Brewers he faced and carrying a perfect game into the third inning with a 4-0 lead. But Milwaukee finally cracked him in the fourth: after a walk to Brice Turang, William Contreras and Jake Bauers smacked back-to-back ground-rule doubles, the second plating two runs to cut the lead to 4-2.

The Brewers kept coming in the fifth. Sal Frelick walked, stole second and scored on David Hamilton’s RBI single to make it 4-3 — ending Glasnow’s night after 4 1/3 innings, with Evan Phillips summoned from the bullpen, according to USA Today’s live blog. Phillips then issued an intentional walk to Turang and free passes to Contreras and Bauers — the last with the bases loaded, forcing home Hamilton to tie the game at 4-4 — before Alex Vesia entered and got Christian Yelich to ground out, stranding the bases loaded, per Sportradar’s play-by-play.

How the series reached the brink: Game 3 recap

The Brewers seized their 3-0 series lead with a 6-2 win on Wednesday night, powered by late-game power — as detailed in our NLCS Game 4 preview, Milwaukee arrived at Dodger Stadium needing just one win to reach the World Series. Jackson Chourio ambushed Blake Snell’s first pitch of the game for a leadoff homer — his third career postseason leadoff blast — and after Will Smith’s two-run double gave the Dodgers a brief 2-1 lead in the sixth, Jake Bauers and Garrett Mitchell hit back-to-back homers in the seventh to flip the game, Reuters reported.

Rookie left-hander Robert Gasser fired five scoreless innings for Milwaukee, DL Hall earned the win with 2 1/3 scoreless frames, and closer Trevor Megill nailed down the final four outs for his fourth save of the postseason. Attendance was 50,708 at Dodger Stadium, according to theScore’s box score.

Before Thursday’s first pitch, the numbers told a grim story for Los Angeles: Milwaukee was hitting .281 with five homers and 15 runs through three games, while the Dodgers were batting .165 with no home runs in the series, per Fox Sports’ analysis. The Brewers’ bullpen was 3-0 with a 1.32 ERA in the NLCS.

What the Dodgers Brewers NLCS Game 4 result means

The Brewers’ season now has its crown jewel. Milwaukee, which went 103-59 in the regular season, has claimed the first National League pennant in franchise history and ended a 44-year World Series drought — the Brewers are one of five MLB clubs never to have won a title, per USA Today, and their only previous World Series trip came in 1982 as an American League club, when they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers, meanwhile, fall short of becoming the first National League club to win three consecutive World Series titles, according to Reuters — their reign ended by the same team they swept in last year’s NLCS.

The Brewers will open the World Series at home on Oct. 23 against the winner of the American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays, with the Guardians holding a 2-1 lead after Thursday’s 3-2 win, per Reuters. Jake Bauers was named the NLCS MVP after a series in which he delivered the biggest hits of the comeback, NBC Sports reported.

NLCS Game 4 FAQs

What is the Dodgers Brewers NLCS Game 4 result?

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Thursday, Oct. 15, completing a four-game NLCS sweep. Garrett Mitchell’s sixth-inning homer off Tanner Scott broke a 4-4 tie, David Hamilton added a ninth-inning solo shot off Edwin Díaz, and Aaron Ashby earned the save with three scoreless innings. JoJo Romero (2-1) got the win; Scott (0-1) took the loss. The Brewers advance to the World Series for the first time since 1982.

Why did the Dodgers move Shohei Ohtani to the leadoff spot?

Manager Dave Roberts moved Ohtani from sixth to leadoff — the first time he has led off this postseason — to get the slumping superstar more at-bats in a must-win game. Ohtani had gone 1-for-2 with a walk in Game 3 and had not homered since Aug. 18. The move paid off when he hit a three-run homer in the second inning, per USA Today and EssentiallySports.

Who were the starting pitchers for NLCS Game 4?

Tyler Glasnow started for the Dodgers, while the Brewers used a bullpen game opened by left-hander Shane Drohan, with Dustin May among the relievers who followed. Glasnow lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, before the Dodgers went to Evan Phillips and Alex Vesia, according to USA Today’s live blog.

When does the World Series start?

The World Series begins Friday, Oct. 23, with the Brewers hosting the first two games at American Family Field in Milwaukee, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee will face the winner of the ALCS between the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays (Guardians lead 2-1). No Game 5 was needed — the sweep ended the NLCS in four games.

Sources: Reuters Game 4 recap (Field Level Media, Oct. 16, 2026); NBC Sports on the sweep (Oct. 15, 2026); USA Today’s live Game 4 updates (Jesse Yomtov, Oct. 15, 2026); For The Win on Ohtani’s bat flip (Oct. 15, 2026); EssentiallySports on the Ohtani leadoff move (Oct. 16, 2026); Reuters Game 3 recap (Field Level Media, Oct. 15, 2026); Fox Sports NLCS analysis (Oct. 15, 2026); Fox Sports Game 3 final (Oct. 15, 2026).