Brewers Beat Padres 3-1 to End Road Playoff Drought, Set Up NLCS Rematch With Dodgers as Misiorowski Awaits

SAN DIEGO — The Milwaukee Brewers finally won a postseason game on the road, and it sent them back to the doorstep of the World Series.

Garrett Mitchell drove in a run, tripled to set up another and made a crucial catch at the wall, Jackson Chourio set a franchise record with his 17th career postseason RBI, and the Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Wednesday night in Game 4 of their National League Division Series.

Milwaukee won the best-of-five series 3-1 and advanced to the NL Championship Series for the second straight season and the fifth time in franchise history. Once again, the Los Angeles Dodgers stand in the way.

The Dodgers eliminated the Atlanta Braves in four games earlier Wednesday. Game 1 of the NLCS is Sunday at American Family Field in Milwaukee, and it will air on FOX.

It will be the third straight NLCS meeting between the Brewers and Dodgers.

Snapping a historic skid

The victory ended one of the most frustrating streaks in postseason history. The Brewers had lost 12 straight road playoff games, tying the longest such streak in Major League Baseball history.

Milwaukee's last road postseason win came in Game 3 of the 2018 NLCS at Dodger Stadium, when the Brewers beat Walker Buehler.

Fittingly, Buehler started for the Padres on Wednesday night.

The Brewers, who won a franchise-record 103 games in the regular season, beat him again.

Gasser rises to the moment

Left-hander Robert Gasser gave Milwaukee four effective innings and left with a 2-1 lead.

Gasser, a former Padres prospect traded to Milwaukee in the 2022 deal that sent closer Josh Hader to San Diego, missed most of the previous two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery and did not make the Brewers' Opening Day roster this year.

"He was great, showed great poise and doubled up in the second inning," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "So I'm proud of him."

Mitchell breaks out

Mitchell, a former first-round draft pick who battled four years of injuries before playing more games this season than in his first four seasons combined, had struggled early in the series, going 2 for 11 with six strikeouts.

He broke through with an RBI single in the third inning, then led off the fifth with a triple that set up the go-ahead run.

Chourio followed with a one-out single through a drawn-in infield. The RBI was the 22-year-old's 17th in the postseason, passing Ryan Braun for the Brewers' franchise record and matching Hall of Famer Andruw Jones for the most postseason RBIs in major league history by a player younger than 23.

Chourio drove in six of Milwaukee's first 12 runs in the series, including a game-ending two-run single off Padres closer Mason Miller in Game 2.

Sal Frelick added a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it 3-1.

Bullpen slams the door

From there, Milwaukee's bullpen took over.

Left-hander Aaron Ashby threw three hitless innings. Ashby's uncle, Andy Ashby, pitched eight seasons for the Padres and was a two-time All-Star.

Abner Uribe, pitching for the fourth time in five days, then faced the top of San Diego's lineup in the eighth inning and narrowly escaped.

With a runner on, Manny Machado drove a ball to deep center field that appeared headed for a game-tying, two-run homer. Mitchell raced back to Petco Park's center-field wall and made the catch.

The ball, projected by Statcast at 406 feet with an exit velocity of 106.7 mph, would have been a home run in 19 major league ballparks, but not in San Diego.

Machado grabbed his helmet with both hands in disbelief. It was a familiar moment for the Padres star, who had a nearly identical drive robbed by Adam Jones in a memorable play at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Second baseman Brice Turang then made a tricky catch in foul territory to end the inning.

Trevor Megill pitched the ninth for his second save of the series.

Misiorowski ready for Game 1

Jacob Misiorowski, the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award, was in the bullpen at the start of Wednesday's game, a sign of the urgency the Brewers felt. He warmed up late but was not needed.

By winning in four games, Milwaukee lined up the hard-throwing right-hander to start Game 1 of the NLCS on full rest.

That could be a key difference from past Brewers teams, which fell short against the Dodgers in the 2018 NLCS and again last year.

'A different type of confidence'

Mitchell said this year's team feels different.

"It just feels different, man. I feel like this year we just have a different type of confidence, a different type of belief, and we're just going out there and having fun -- not putting too much pressure on ourselves. And we know we're a force to be reckoned with," Mitchell said.

"We know the Dodgers are a force to be reckoned with, too, and it's going to be a really, really fun series and hopefully we come out on top."

Padres' season ends

San Diego entered the postseason as baseball's hottest second-half team, winning 20 of its last 23 regular-season games. But the Padres repeatedly failed to deliver with runners in scoring position in Milwaukee, losing the first two games of the series by one run each after taking early leads.

The Padres won Game 3 at home to stay alive but could not force a deciding Game 5.

"It's a big challenge," Padres manager Craig Stammen said after the Game 2 loss, referring to the Brewers' resilience.

Chasing a first title

The Brewers are one of five active franchises that have never won a World Series, along with the Padres, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies.

Milwaukee's only World Series appearance came in 1982, when the franchise was in the American League. The Brewers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

The Rays, another franchise seeking a first title, reached the AL Championship Series by sweeping the New York Yankees.

For the second straight year, the Brewers are four wins from the World Series. This time, they believe they have the pitcher to get them there.