Garrett Mitchell’s swing turned a tense sixth inning into a Milwaukee celebration Thursday night, sending the Brewers past the Dodgers and into the World Series with a 5-4 comeback win in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
Milwaukee erased an early four-run hole, then watched Mitchell drive a middle-middle fastball from Dodgers left-hander Tanner Scott over the fence for the deciding run. The victory completed a 4-0 NLCS sweep of Los Angeles, the two-time reigning World Series champion, and gave the Brewers their sixth comeback victory in seven wins this postseason.
For Mitchell, the moment carried the weight of a journey that began when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 9. Questions about whether he could withstand the daily demands of a 162-game center-field season followed him through his climb to the majors. This year, he has appeared in more games than he did across his first four professional seasons combined.
Brewers climb out of a four-run deficit
The Dodgers built a 4-0 lead after Shohei Ohtani broke out of his slump with a three-run homer. No club had previously rallied from a deficit that large to finish a postseason series sweep.
Milwaukee began its answer in the fourth. NLCS MVP Jake Bauers lined a two-run double, cutting into the margin. David Hamilton brought home another run with an RBI single in the fifth, and Bauers later worked a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 4-4.
Then came Mitchell’s turn. Scott entered for the sixth having not surrendered a home run to a left-handed batter during either the regular season or postseason. Andrew Vaughn, a right-handed hitter, was at the bat rack prepared to pinch-hit if Milwaukee made a move.
Mitchell instead stayed in the game, fell behind 0-2, and refused to chase three pitches out of the zone. With the count back in his favor, he got the fastball he wanted and did not miss it.
“I just heard an explosion go off,” Vaughn said. “The ball was crushed. What a sweet swing.”
Mitchell said his focus was simply to put together a quality plate appearance after getting down early in the count.
“We’re savages, man,” Mitchell said. “We go down four runs early there, and nobody panics. This is what we’ve been doing. I’m just so proud of our team.”
Two October hits, two major swings
Mitchell collected only two hits in the NLCS, but both left the yard. In Game 3, he followed Bauers’ 11-pitch, go-ahead two-run homer with a solo shot. The pair became the third set of left-handed hitters to hit back-to-back postseason homers against a left-handed pitcher.
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig did it in 1928, while Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper matched the feat earlier this month. Mitchell’s Game 4 homer, again off a left-hander, supplied the biggest blow of Milwaukee’s sweep.
His father, Antony Mitchell, saw the game slowing down for his son in the way he handled each pitch. Garrett had long carried an edge born from having to answer doubts.
“Growing up, he’s always one that his chip, his edge, his grit, was proving people wrong,” Antony Mitchell said. “I told him, ‘It’s time to make the big shift.’ That’s what he’s doing right now.”
A difficult path to the Brewers
Milwaukee drafted Mitchell 20th overall after clubs weighed concerns surrounding his diabetes. Brewers amateur scouting director Tod Johnson said the condition played a part in the outfielder being available when Milwaukee selected.
“I’ll be honest: He’s probably not a Brewer if he doesn’t have diabetes,” Johnson said. “He fell to 20th overall because of concerns about that. Then he battled through different injuries that are not necessarily related to that. But before the Draft, we did a lot of work on it.”
Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold had prior experience with Sam Fuld, the former major league outfielder and current Rays executive who also has diabetes. Fuld became one of Mitchell’s early baseball role models.
“To do something like he did on this stage is a message for everybody that if you put your mind to it, you can do it,” Arnold said. “He’s overcome so much.”
Mitchell wears an insulin-delivery pod linked to his phone and checks his levels throughout the day, including during games. His blood sugar has occasionally forced him out of the lineup this season. As his workload increased, he also had to adjust his eating habits and timing to keep himself available.
Along the way, Mitchell has made a point of connecting with young athletes managing diabetes, offering encouragement from someone who knows the daily work behind the bright lights.
“He has managed himself for many years, and here he is, an example to kids that anything is possible,” his father said. “It’s a disease, and you have to learn to manage it. It’s not easy. He makes things look easy sometimes, but he works really hard to make it all work.”
Now the Brewers are headed to the World Series, with Game 1 set for Oct. 23. Mitchell’s home run put the final stamp on a sweep, but his father saw something larger in the celebration on the field.
“He loves kids, he loves this game, he loves his team,” Antony Mitchell said. “Here they are, celebrating. We’re going to the World Series. This is so fantastic.”
