Jake Bauers wins NLCS MVP as Brewers sweep Dodgers to reach World Series
Bauers drove in six runs across the four-game series and helped Milwaukee rally from four runs down in the clincher against Los Angeles.
Jake Bauers was named National League Championship Series MVP after the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 15, completing a four-game sweep and reaching their first World Series since 1982. Bauers helped turn the deciding game with a two-run double and a bases-loaded walk.
Milwaukee trailed by four runs in Game 4 before rallying. Bauers’ double in the fourth inning began the comeback, and his walk in the fifth forced home the tying run, according to the Associated Press. Garrett Mitchell later hit a go-ahead solo homer in the sixth, ESPN reported.
How Bauers shaped the four-game series
Bauers finished the NLCS 4 for 14, a .286 average, with one home run and six runs batted in. The decisive hits were spread across the series: he hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Blake Snell in Game 3 after an 11-pitch at-bat, then drove in two more runs with his Game 4 double.
In Game 2, Bauers worked a 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto shortly before Christian Yelich’s two-run single put Milwaukee ahead in a 7-4 win, the AP reported. The walk did not add to Bauers’ RBI total, but it was another long plate appearance during the sweep.
‘There was never a doubt in that dugout what was going to happen,’ Bauers said after Game 4, according to CBS Sports. ‘We knew we were going to win.’ The series had a personal setting for the first baseman: he attended high school about 40 miles south of Dodger Stadium, the AP reported.
What the award means for Milwaukee
CBS Sports reported that Bauers is the first player to win an LCS MVP award for the Brewers franchise. Milwaukee won the American League pennant in 1982, but that year’s ALCS MVP went to Fred Lynn of the losing California Angels. This pennant sends the Brewers to the World Series for the first time in 44 years.
The Brewers’ sweep also reversed the outcome of last year’s postseason meeting, when the Dodgers swept Milwaukee on their way to the title. ESPN reported that it was the first time in MLB postseason history that a team swept an opponent that had swept it the preceding season. Milwaukee will face either the Cleveland Guardians or Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series.
Read in depth: Sports
NBA general managers favor Spurs for 2027 title, Wembanyama for MVP
San Antonio topped Oklahoma City in the league’s annual survey, while Victor Wembanyama drew 77% of the MVP picks. The results reflect executives’ forecasts for the coming season.
Four arrested in shooting of 49ers player Keion White; charges reported in San Francisco
The arrests span California and Georgia after White was shot at a San Francisco nightclub in February. Reports differ on one suspect’s charges.
Sources and context
- Brewers slugger Jake Bauers wins NLCS MVP award against hometown DodgersAssociated Press (republished by Yahoo Sports)
- Jake Bauers named NLCS MVP as Brewers advance to World Series after sweeping DodgersCBS Sports
- Brewers sweep Dodgers in NLCS, advance to 1st World Series in 44 yearsESPN
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.