The Brewers left the Dodger Stadium mound to their bullpen Thursday night, and it was fitting. Milwaukee’s relievers carried the club through the closing stretch of a 6-4 comeback victory over Los Angeles, completing a sweep of the National League Championship Series and sending the franchise to its first World Series in 44 years.
| Game | Final | Key bullpen work |
|---|---|---|
| NLCS clincher, Los Angeles | Brewers 6, Dodgers 4 | May, Romero and Ashby held Los Angeles scoreless over the final seven innings |
| Aaron Ashby, postseason | 6 appearances, 12 1/3 innings | 0 runs allowed |
| Brewers relievers, NLCS | 21 2/3 innings, 5 runs | 2.08 ERA |
Milwaukee had to climb out of an early hole. Opener Shane Drohan gave up a leadoff hit in the second, and Dustin May was touched for four runs when Andy Pages singled home a run and Shohei Ohtani drove a three-run homer into right-center. The Dodgers would not score again.
May, facing the club he once pitched for, regrouped after the Ohtani blast and worked through the third and fourth innings without allowing another run. He had also delivered a scoreless middle-relief inning in Game 2. The right-hander, the lone Brewer on the NLCS roster with previous World Series experience, said he had missed his spot against Ohtani but knew he had to settle himself and finish his assignment.
“I have been through tougher spots,” May said. “You know something like that can happen. Once it does, you have to put it behind you.”
A bullpen answer at every turn
The Brewers trimmed the deficit with two runs in the fourth and another two in the fifth. JoJo Romero then took over and delivered the kind of inning that changes a postseason game: Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, three former MVPs, went down in order.
Garrett Mitchell put Milwaukee ahead with a home run in the sixth, and Romero protected that lead through the bottom half despite a one-out double. Manager Pat Murphy then gave the final nine outs to Ashby, who has become the Brewers’ October workhorse.
Ashby faced danger in both the seventh and eighth. Pages opened the seventh with a double, took third on a sacrifice bunt, and stood 90 feet away with fewer than two outs. Ashby struck out Ohtani, then got Betts to hit a ground ball that ended the inning.
Los Angeles made another push in the eighth. Will Smith doubled to right and reached third when Sal Frelick had trouble playing the ball in the corner. Ashby answered by getting Kyle Tucker on a shallow fly to center before striking out Teoscar Hernández.
Frelick said he never doubted that Ashby would cover for him after the misplay.
“I knew Ash had it,” Frelick said. “That is what this club has done all year. If somebody makes an aggressive mistake, the next guy is there to pick him up.”
Ashby finished a quiet ninth to close out the two-time defending World Series champions. His 39-pitch save lasted at least three innings, putting him alongside Lance McCullers Jr. in the 2017 ALCS, Madison Bumgarner in the 2014 World Series, Steve Howe in the 1981 World Series and Vida Blue in the 1972 ALCS as the only pitchers with three-plus-inning saves in a series clincher since saves became an official statistic in 1969.
The 28-year-old left-hander, who led Milwaukee with 75 regular-season appearances, said the reality of the moment arrived when he looked toward catcher William Contreras after the final out.
“It did not really register right away,” Ashby said. “Then I looked at Willy and thought, ‘This is really happening.’ It was crazy.”
Milwaukee’s October identity
National League Championship Series MVP Jake Bauers called the relief group remarkable, saying the Brewers have watched those arms attack hitters and execute pitches throughout the season. The numbers have backed him up.
Milwaukee became the first club to have relievers earn victories in seven of its first eight postseason games. The 2015 Royals are the only team with more relief wins across an entire postseason, with eight. Against the Dodgers, six Brewers relievers surrendered only five runs over 21 2/3 innings.
Ashby kept insisting to Murphy that he was ready for more work, and Murphy stayed with the left-hander’s hot hand. Closer Trevor Megill joked that this is what can happen when a starter moves into relief: he can keep going.
May said the unit is built around pitchers who seek the big inning, throw hard and fill the strike zone. Megill pointed to the time the group has spent together over the past couple of seasons and the trust that has followed.
Now the Brewers have a chance at the first World Series championship in franchise history. Game 1 is scheduled for Oct. 23, and Milwaukee will arrive there with a bullpen that has already made the mound feel like home.
