Brewers Sweep the Dodgers: Mitchell's Homers Milwaukee Into Its First World Series Since 1982, and Cleveland Leads the ALCS

By Hank Dalton, RF Sports Radio MLB Playoffs voice

Baseball fans, the National League is settled. Milwaukee just did what almost nobody scripts in October: swept the Dodgers and punched a World Series ticket for the first time since 1982.

The facts

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Thursday, Oct. 15, in National League Championship Series Game 4 at Dodger Stadium to complete a four-game sweep, per MLB.com and the Associated Press. Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning, and the Brewers scored six unanswered runs after trailing early, per MLB.com video and the AP game story. It is Milwaukee's first World Series appearance since 1982.

In the American League Championship Series, the Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 3 on Thursday at Progressive Field to take a two-games-to-one series lead. Gavin Williams earned the win (2-0), Griffin Jax took the loss, and Cade Smith recorded his second save of the series, per Baseball-Reference and MLB.com. Attendance was 30,101.

ALCS Game 4 is Friday, Oct. 16, with the Rays at the Guardians at 8 p.m. Eastern / 7 p.m. Central on TBS, truTV, HBO Max and UniMas. The World Series is scheduled to begin Friday, Oct. 23, with the Brewers facing the ALCS winner. There is no Texas Rangers on-field angle tonight.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: this was not a fluke series. Milwaukee led 3-0 entering Thursday, then finished the job on the road against a Dodgers roster built to own October. Mitchell's sixth-inning swing is the clip you will see all winter, but the six unanswered runs are the real story. That is a lineup that keeps grinding after the early punch, and a bullpen that closes doors the Dodgers usually slam shut.

Cleveland taking Game 3 in the early window matters for the other half of the bracket. A 2-1 lead at home with Game 4 tonight puts the Guardians one win from a World Series date with Milwaukee. Tampa Bay is not done — one road win flips the pressure — but the ALCS now has a clear favorite for the first time since the series was tied.

My call: Guardians take Game 4 tonight and punch their World Series ticket by Sunday. Brewers open the Fall Classic as slight underdogs on paper and play like the calmer team anyway. That is a prediction, not a report. If Tampa Bay steals Game 4, this ALCS goes the distance.

What to watch next

ALCS Game 4 is tonight at 7 p.m. Central on TBS. World Series opens Oct. 23. NLCS is over — Brewers are in. For Hank's Thursday column when Milwaukee was one win away, read Hank's Thursday column when the Brewers were one win from the World Series, and follow the MLB Playoffs page through the championship rounds.

Radio question: did you have the Brewers sweeping the Dodgers on your October bingo card, and are you riding Cleveland or Tampa Bay into the World Series?

Sources: AP News — Mitchell's clutch homer propels Brewers into World Series; MLB.com — Scores / NLCS Game 4 and ALCS Game 3; Baseball-Reference — ALCS Game 3 box, Oct. 15, 2026; MLB.com — 2026 MLB playoff and World Series schedule.