Milwaukee Brewers NLCS Celebration

For the first time in 44 years, the Milwaukee Brewers will play for a World Series.

The final two games of the NLCS being at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles didn’t stop Brewers fans from cheering on their team as they clinched their first World Series berth since 1982.

The Party

More than 16,000 fans gathered inside American Family Field on a rainy Milwaukee night, hoping to see their team punch its ticket to the Fall Classic. The raucous crowd stayed engaged from the first pitch to the confetti drop, cheering on their Brewers from over 2,000 miles away.

Jubilation in Milwaukee – Photo: Joe Bakalars

With rain in the forecast, the indoor watch party was announced early Thursday morning. It was sold out within hours. While ticket prices for the actual game at Dodger Stadium plummeted, Brewers fans continued to itch for more access to postseason baseball.

The main FOX broadcast was played on the massive video board at American Family Field, and the crowd was hanging on to every moment. Between innings, fans would grab more beer, brats, and pretzels with food vouchers included in their watch party ticket.

For almost the entire ninth inning, American Family Field was on its feet. Fans held their breath; they held each other, waiting for the moment in which their team would accomplish something that had not been accomplished in a lot of the attendees’ lifetimes.

The Celebration

When the final out was made, the crowd exploded as blue and yellow confetti rained down overhead. High-fives, fist bumps, and hugs were exchanged. Many were cheering; some were crying. The words “2026 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS” ran across the ribbon boards.

Once the confetti settled, field staff made sure to gather the strands off the field and bring them to the waiting fans. Everyone seemed to want a keepsake to remember their night. That was even more evident by the outrageously long lines at the team store, where World Series and NL Champions merchandise had just been brought out.

Even as fans left for their cars in the parking lot, “Let’s Go Brewers” chants rang out. Car horns honked wildly as they filed out of the lots. The party in Milwaukee would continue late into the night.

The Game

The Brewers, up 3-0 on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, looked to sweep them out of the playoffs. That, it turns out, had never been done before. No team had ever swept their opponent a year after being swept by the same club. The Brewers decided that would be another piece of history to add to this magical 2026 run.

The Dodgers went up 4-0 early on one swing by Shohei Ohtani. It would have to be another come-from-behind victory for Milwaukee to pull off the sweep. That was the first big swing from Ohtani all series, as he sent a Dustin May cutter 428 feet into the right-field bleachers. It looked like that might have unlocked something from the Japanese superstar. However, as it was in every game of the series, the Brewers still had life.

After William Contreras and Jake Bauers cut the lead to two in the fourth, an RBI single from David Hamilton chased starter Tyler Glasnow in the fifth. A few batters later, Bauers walked on four pitches to tie the ballgame.

A home run from Garrett Mitchell off Tanner Scott in the sixth would give Milwaukee the lead. Another from Hamilton off Edwin Diaz in the ninth would give them some insurance. JoJo Romero threw two scoreless innings, and Aaron Ashby earned the save after firing three scoreless innings. He closed the game for the Brewers.

The Aftermath

The Brewers will face the winner of the ALDS, either the Guardians or the Rays, starting Friday, Oct. 23, in Milwaukee.

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