SAN DIEGO — Garrett Mitchell tripled and scored the tiebreaking run in the fifth inning before making a pivotal catch on Manny Machado's drive to the wall in the eighth, and the Milwaukee Brewers advanced to the National League Championship Series for the second straight season with a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night, winning their best-of-five Division Series in four games.
Mitchell also drove in Sal Frelick with Milwaukee’s first run as the Brewers snapped their 12-game postseason road losing streak since 2018 and reached the team's fifth League Championship Series.
“Just so proud of these guys,” Frelick said. “After the first (loss in Game 3), it really starts to creep in that you don’t want to go back for a Game 5. Really proud of these guys for stepping up today and getting the job done.”
After fending off the surging Padres in four tight games decided by a combined five runs, the 103-win Brewers will get an NLCS rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who eliminated Atlanta on Wednesday.
The Dodgers swept Milwaukee last October on the way to their second consecutive World Series title.
“Why wouldn't you want another chance to go at it (with the Dodgers) after the way it happened last year?” asked Mitchell, who missed the end of last season with a shoulder injury. “I don't think that's any more pressure on us. It's just ... let's see what we can do.”
Machado nearly tied Game 4 with a 406-foot drive off reliever Abner Uribe, but Mitchell coolly tracked it down and reached just above the short wall in right-center to keep it in the yard.
“Just got a good jump off the bat,” Mitchell said. “When I got to the wall, I just had to stay composed and make the catch. I didn’t really have to jump. I knew the wall isn’t as high as at other fields.”
Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 429-foot homer on an otherwise tepid offensive night for the Padres, who repeatedly tested the majors' best regular-season team before falling short of only the fourth NLCS appearance in team history.
“It was unfortunate, man,” Machado said of his flyout. “He made a nice play. I should have hit it harder. Two more inches, that ball may have been a homer.”
One night after the Padres avoided elimination in Game 3, Milwaukee claimed its first road playoff win since the 2018 NLCS by sticking to its season-long formula for success.
While four Brewers pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the defense made nearly every big play, Milwaukee’s lineup calmly worked counts, pounded 10 hits through the Padres’ defense and manufactured enough runs to head home smiling.
“After yesterday, the energy in the clubhouse was still good,” Mitchell said. “Nobody was pressing. We were just treating it like another day, treating it like we have nothing to lose. We just had to go out there and play our brand of baseball, and that starts with quality at-bats, getting on base, putting pressure on teams, and we did that today.”
Game 2 hero Jackson Chourio capped his high-impact series by driving in Mitchell to become the Brewers' career leader in postseason RBIs at just 22 years old. Chourio has 17 RBIs, including six in this series, in 16 playoff games.
Milwaukee opened the scoring in the third when Frelick reached on an infield single, stole second and came around on a single by Mitchell, an Orange County native and UCLA product.
Brewers starter and former Padres draft pick Robert Gasser threw four innings of three-hit ball, but Tatis ended his 1-for-19 skid since San Diego's playoff opener with a long shot to center in the third. It was the longest homer ever hit in the postseason at Petco Park by a San Diego player.
Padres starter Walker Buehler yielded just three hits and a run, but manager Craig Stammen replaced him with Game 1 starter Robbie Ray after William Contreras’ leadoff single in the fourth.
Mitchell then stroked a mild liner perfectly over first base and into the right-field corner leading off the fifth, and he scored on Chourio's single through the drawn-in infield. Chourio surpassed Ryan Braun for the most postseason RBIs in Brewers history.
Jake Bauers singled leading off the sixth and went to third on Cooper Pratt's ground-rule double before scoring on Frelick's sacrifice fly.
The Padres were already down 3-1 in the seventh when Mason Miller allowed three baserunners, but no runs. The vaunted closer missed Game 3 for the birth of his first child.
After Mitchell’s catch on Machado’s fly, second baseman Brice Turang ended the eighth with an acrobatic catch of Ty France’s tailing popup in foul ground.
After sitting below .500 and in 11th place in the NL in late July, San Diego roared into the first wild-card spot and then swept the Cubs in the Wild Card Series last week. The Padres had won 19 of 22 before losing three of four to Milwaukee.
Up next
The Brewers host the Dodgers in Game 1 on Sunday with ace Jacob Misiorowski almost certainly lined up to start. Milwaukee is four wins from only the second World Series berth in team history.
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