LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jake Bauers went home to Southern California and walked away with an MVP trophy.
Bauers hit a two-run double in the fourth inning Thursday to begin Milwaukee's comeback, and the Brewers rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers that completed a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series.
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Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers (9) celebrates after Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers hols the NLCS MVP trophy after Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers connects for a two-RBI double during the fourth inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers connects for a two-RBI double during the fourth inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The 31-year-old first baseman also drew a walk that forced home the tying run in the fifth to help Milwaukee advance to the World Series for the first time in 44 years.
“There was never a doubt,” Bauers said. “There was never a doubt in that dugout what was going to happen tonight. We knew we were going to win that game.”
Bauers was selected the NLCS MVP after going 4 for 14 (.286) with a home run and six RBIs in the series. He worked three walks and finished with a .983 OPS.
Bauers was born in Newport Beach and went to Marina High School in Huntington Beach about 40 miles south of Dodger Stadium.
If performing at his best in front of family and friends was rewarding, seeing Los Angeles in the playoffs for the second consecutive season heightened his senses. Bauers learned something from how the Dodgers reacted when they wiped out Milwaukee in the 2025 NLCS on the way to their second straight World Series title.
“Watching the way they carried themselves on the field after sweeping us last year was a little bit eye-opening,” Bauers said. "We won the (NLDS) against the Cubs, and I think we kind of celebrated like that was something.
“Those guys swept us, they sent us home, and you would have thought it was a handshake line at a spring training game. That’s something that I carried with me. That’s something that I remembered. Yeah, it was a little bit of motivation to just say, we’ve got to keep going until there’s not another game left to play.”
It's not just in the playoffs that Bauers has shined. Earning consistent playing time from Brewers manager Pat Murphy in his seventh major league season, Bauers set career highs across the board with a .266 batting average, .874 OPS, 26 home runs and 86 RBIs.
The left-handed-hitting Bauers also made his mark in Games 2 and 3 of the NLCS with long plate appearances. His 12-pitch walk against Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 came just before a two-run single by Christian Yelich that gave Milwaukee the lead in a back-and-forth 7-4 win.
Bauers also hit a go-ahead homer off two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to end an 11-pitch at-bat in a 6-2 victory in Game 3 at Los Angeles.
“Just trying to be ready for the moment, man,” Bauers said. “Murph has been talking about it all year. You have to meet the game halfway and be ready, and whatever happens after that is whatever happens.”
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers (9) celebrates after Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers hols the NLCS MVP trophy after Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers connects for a two-RBI double during the fourth inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers connects for a two-RBI double during the fourth inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Back atop the batting order, Shohei Ohtani responded with a three-run homer that helped the Los Angeles Dodgers build their early lead in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
But it wasn't enough to keep the Milwaukee Brewers from advancing to their first World Series in 44 years on Thursday.
The Dodgers lost 6-4 and got swept in four games, the same thing they did to the Brewers last year on the way to winning a second straight World Series title.
Ohtani went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts — including a big one in the seventh inning with the potential tying run at third base and one out. He hit .192 in the playoffs (5 for 26) with three RBIs, four walks and 10 strikeouts.
Last season, Ohtani was the NLCS MVP after hitting three home runs and striking out 10 batters over six-plus shutout innings of two-hit ball during a dominant two-way performance in the clinching Game 4.
“Ohtani is arguably the best player in the world, and he’s proven that to us,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “He had the greatest game I’ve ever seen played by an individual player last year against us.”
With the Dodgers facing elimination this time, Ohtani's 428-foot drive to right-center off former teammate Dustin May left his bat at 113.1 mph and gave Los Angeles a 4-0 lead in the second inning. It was the Dodgers' first homer of the series and his first since Aug. 18 at Colorado — a span of 116 plate appearances.
“I thought we woke up a giant. I’m like, ‘Oh, God, here we go,’” Murphy said. “But we had a little JoJo Romero for them and Aaron Ashby for them later on. That did the trick.”
The typically placid Ohtani reacted in a most un-Ohtani way: raising his arms and yelling toward the Dodgers' dugout before beginning his trot around the bases.
“I think it was a lot of pent-up anger, frustration. It was the best ball he hit in probably two, three months, and it was a big hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “For him to look at the dugout, show that emotion, it just shows how much he cares. He’s still human. He still cares and wants to help his team win a baseball game.”
With two outs, Ohtani unleashed the smooth and powerful swing that had mostly deserted him over the last few months while he dealt with knee and arm issues.
The four-time MVP struck out swinging so hard in the first that his helmet came off.
Ohtani has been dealing with nagging injuries to his left knee and right biceps and didn't pitch after the All-Star break.
He told reporters at his locker that he “definitely” expects to pitch next season.
“Looking forward to having a better season next year,” he said through a translator.
Ohtani was vague when asked if he expects to need surgery for the injuries that affected him this season.
“Hard to tell at this point,” he said. “It's something that's going to be analyzed, discussed over the offseason and see if that's a viable thing to do.”
Roberts said, "I think he’s the best player on the planet, and he’s not completely healthy. But I just give him a lot of respect for not running from it, still wanting to participate, still wanting to play when he’s not 100%.”
Roberts restored Ohtani to his familiar leadoff spot for Game 4.
Ohtani batted sixth in a 6-2 loss on Wednesday, the lowest he's hit since joining the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season. He was 1 for 2 with a walk and a hit by pitch.
“Just seeing the work the last couple days, I like where his head is at,” Roberts said before the game. “I liked the at-bats yesterday. Obviously we haven’t performed the way that we’re capable of, so to kind of shake it up a little bit, but something that’s of somewhat normalcy that our guys are used to.”
Ohtani typically leads off but was dropped lower while struggling with injuries to his left knee and right biceps over the last few months that have prevented the two-way star from pitching since early July. Roberts didn't tell Ohtani about the change before posting the Game 4 lineup.
“It's not one player that didn’t come through. It was all of us,” Roberts said. “But I’m really impressed with what Shohei did. I'll always trust Shohei."
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches from the dugout during the ninth inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani watches from the dugout during the ninth inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates his three run home run during the second inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani follows through on a three run home run during the second inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates his three run home run during the second inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates his three run home during the second inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani connects for a three run home during the second inning of Game 4 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
