Brewers Beat Padres 3-1 to Clinch NLDS, Will Face Dodgers in NLCS Rematch

The Milwaukee Brewers are headed back to the National League Championship Series, where a familiar October opponent awaits.

Milwaukee beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 in Game 4 of the 2026 National League Division Series on Wednesday night at Petco Park, winning the best-of-five series 3-1 and setting up a second straight NLCS matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The rematch became official later Wednesday, when Los Angeles finished off the Atlanta Braves in four games to reach its third consecutive NLCS.

Game 1 of the NLCS is scheduled for Sunday at American Family Field in Milwaukee, where the Brewers earned home field by posting a franchise-record 103-59 regular season. For Milwaukee, the matchup brings another chance against the club that swept it out of the 2025 NLCS and also beat the Brewers in the 2018 NLCS.

The clinching game itself was a compact, low-scoring finish to the division series. Milwaukee outhit San Diego 10-3 and got the win from left-hander Aaron Ashby. Trevor Megill earned the save, while Padres starter Robbie Ray took the loss.

San Diego’s only run came on a solo home run by Fernando Tatis Jr., who accounted for all of the Padres’ offense on the scoreboard. That was not enough against a Brewers club that consistently put runners on base and limited San Diego’s lineup to three hits.

The larger significance now is the rematch. Milwaukee’s return to the NLCS is notable on its own, but the opponent gives it added weight. The Brewers and Dodgers are meeting in the league championship series for the second straight year, extending a recent postseason history between the clubs that has repeatedly blocked Milwaukee’s path to the World Series.

Los Angeles won last year’s NLCS in a sweep, and the Dodgers also eliminated the Brewers in the 2018 NLCS. This year’s Brewers team, however, arrives with the best regular season in franchise history and with home field to open the series in Milwaukee.

That makes this one of the biggest Octobers the franchise has had. The 2026 berth is Milwaukee’s fifth League Championship Series appearance and its second in a row, another marker of how far the club has pushed beyond earlier postseason breakthroughs.

The road clincher also carried some added context. Entering Game 4, the Brewers had lost 12 straight postseason road games dating to 2018, tying the major league record for consecutive road playoff losses. They ended that skid by closing out the Padres in San Diego, a useful detail for a team that will need to win against a postseason-tested Dodgers club if it is to move on.

For now, the immediate result is clear: Milwaukee is through, the Dodgers are next, and the National League’s top seed will open the NLCS at home Sunday with a chance to reverse a recent October script.