Garrett Mitchell Robs Homer as Brewers Clinch NLCS Return

Garrett Mitchell took a potential game-tying home run away from Manny Machado in the eighth inning as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 on Wednesday night, clinching the National League Division Series in four games. The catch preserved Milwaukee’s two-run lead at Petco Park and sent the Brewers back to the NL Championship Series for a rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mitchell changes the game on both sides

Mitchell drove in Milwaukee’s first run with a third-inning single, then opened the fifth with a triple down the first-base line. Jackson Chourio followed with a go-ahead single through the drawn-in infield, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead.

His biggest contribution came with a runner on and one out in the eighth. Machado drove Abner Uribe’s pitch deep to center field, but Mitchell reached above the wall and made the catch, turning what could have been a tying two-run homer into the second out.

Mitchell finished with two hits, one RBI and one run scored. His all-around performance also ended a difficult start to the series in which he had gone 2-for-12 with six strikeouts.

Chourio sets Brewers postseason RBI record

Chourio’s fifth-inning single produced his 17th career postseason RBI, moving him past Ryan Braun for the Brewers’ franchise record. The 22-year-old also matched Andruw Jones for the most postseason RBIs by a Major League player before turning 23.

Sal Frelick added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Fernando Tatis Jr. supplied San Diego’s only run with a 429-foot homer in the third inning, but the Padres managed only three hits.

Ashby shuts down San Diego

After Robert Gasser allowed one run over four innings, Aaron Ashby delivered three hitless relief innings with three strikeouts. Uribe survived the eighth with help from Mitchell’s catch, and Trevor Megill struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save of the series.

The victory snapped Milwaukee’s 12-game postseason road losing streak, which had been tied for the longest in MLB history. The 103-win Brewers will host Game 1 of the NLCS against the Dodgers on Sunday at American Family Field.