Dodgers sweep Brewers to claim 2nd straight NL pennant

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 in Game 4 on Friday to sweep the NLCS and advance to the World Series.

Shohei Ohtani had a performance for the ages with three homers, while pitching six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in the win to help the Dodgers sweep a best-of-seven series for the first time since 1963.

It's the fifth time the Dodgers will play in the World Series since 2017. They won in 2024 and 2020.

"I think we're just in a zone," manager Dave Roberts said postgame, per ASAP Sports. "We're focused on playing good baseball. And I still think that there's a lot of low-hanging fruit offensively. But it's just a very talented group. It's a very focused and very hungry group. So I think that when you get those components, it's tough to beat.

"And we mind the little things. We're hungry. We don't really care what happened before. And we're playing good baseball. We're healthy and we've still got some work to do, though."

Los Angeles is also the first defending champion to return to the Fall Classic since the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies.

Milwaukee scored just four runs in the series after finishing the regular season with an MLB-high 97 wins and a plus-172 run differential. The Brewers' only run Friday was an eighth-inning fielder's choice off the bat of second baseman Brice Turang, who went 1-for-15 in the series with six strikeouts.

"We couldn't really get anything clicking," Turang said after the loss, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "It's part of the game, and you have to understand that.

"In situations like this, as a young kid, you have to learn from it. But it was a great year. It was fun. It's nothing but respect for every guy in this room."

The Dodgers will rest up and await the winner of the ALCS - either the Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays - in the World Series beginning Oct. 24.

The Mariners have a 3-2 lead in that series with Game 6 coming Sunday.