The Milwaukee Brewers are heading back to the National League Championship Series after beating the San Diego Padres 3-1 in Game 4 of the NLDS on Wednesday night, closing out the series 3-1. After the first three games were each decided by a single run, Milwaukee finally found breathing room in the clincher.
Sal Frelick sparked the Brewers with an infield single and a stolen base in the third, scoring on Garrett Mitchell's single to center. Fernando Tatis Jr. answered with a 429-foot solo blast, but Jackson Chourio's RBI single in the fifth restored the lead and Milwaukee's bullpen held on. Starter Robert Gasser survived a bases-loaded first to give the Brewers four gritty innings.
In the Bronx, the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 4-3 in Game 3 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Yankees now face elimination at home, a stunning position for a team that swept Boston in the wild-card round. And in Chicago, the Cleveland Guardians kept their season alive with a 9-3 rout of the White Sox in Game 3, cutting Chicago's series lead to 2-1 ahead of Game 4 on Thursday.
The Brewers await the winner of the Dodgers-Braves series in the NLCS — Los Angeles closed out Atlanta on Wednesday to book its third straight trip to the NLCS, setting up a heavyweight rematch.
