---
title: "Last year swept out, this year sweeping back in: Brewers reach World Series for first time in 44 years, AI Sports Weekly"
description: "Brewers sweep Dodgers 4-0 to clinch the NL pennant, reaching the World Series for the first time in 44 years. Even wilder: last year the Dodgers swept them out, and this year they returned the favor with the exact same roster. Over in the AL Championship Series, heavy rain forced a delay, we'll tell you how the Guardians and Rays handle the schedule from here. Also in this episode: Victor Wembanyama posts the highest MVP vote share in history, and the Raptors and Knicks both pull off comeback wins within two days, all covered in one go."
canonical_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/sports-weekly/sports-weekly-2026-10-17"
author: "Mark Ku"
author_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku"
site: "Mark Ku's Tech Notes"
date_published: "2026-10-17T02:00:00.000Z"
category: "AI Sports Weekly"
tags: ["sports", "podcast", "運動", "釀酒人", "道奇", "大谷翔平", "守護者", "光芒", "文班亞馬", "暴龍"]
language: "en"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
license_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
attribution: "when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original"
---

# Last year swept out, this year sweeping back in: Brewers reach World Series for first time in 44 years, AI Sports Weekly

## Opening

The Brewers swept the Dodgers 4-0 to win the National League pennant, reaching the World Series for the first time in 44 years. Even wilder: last year it was the Brewers who got swept by the Dodgers, and this year they returned the favor with the same roster, move for move. Over in the American League Championship Series, heavy rain forced a postponement, so we'll tell you how the Guardians and Rays have to scramble their schedule in a moment. This episode also covers Victor Wembanyama's historic MVP voting share and a wild two-day swing between the Raptors and Knicks. Let's get into it.

## This Episode's Big Stories

### 1. Brewers Sweep Dodgers 4-0, Reach World Series for First Time in 44 Years
- **What happened**: In Game 4 of the NLCS, Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead solo home run in the 6th inning, and the Brewers held on to beat the Dodgers 6-4, completing a 4-0 sweep to capture the National League pennant. The win ended the Dodgers' bid for a three-peat, and the World Series kicks off October 23 in Milwaukee.
- **Why it matters**: The juiciest detail is that the Brewers were the ones swept by the Dodgers last year, and this year they turned around and did the exact same thing right back to them, becoming the first team in MLB history to sweep the same opponent the year after being swept by them. According to MLB.com, manager Pat Murphy said after the game: "They've got a bunch of Hall of Famers. We've got a bunch of dirtbags."
- **Source**: [MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/brewers-win-nlcs-2026)

### 2. Fewest Home Runs in the League, Yet Headed to the World Series: The Brewers' "Old-School Baseball" Comeback
- **What happened**: The Brewers went 103-59 in the regular season and 7-1 in the postseason, but hit only 154 home runs all year, the fewest by a pennant winner since the 2015 Royals. Instead, they led all of MLB in stolen bases, singles, pulling the ball the other way, and ground-ball hits. In the NLCS, they threw fastballs 66% of the time at an average of 97 mph, holding the Dodgers to just a .250 slugging percentage and zero stolen bases across the four games.
- **Why it matters**: In an era obsessed with strikeouts and extra-base hits, the Brewers reached the World Series playing the most old-fashioned, run-the-bases style of baseball, flying in the face of the recent assumption that "analytics-driven" ball is the only way to win. According to Sports Illustrated, manager Pat Murphy said: "We wanted to establish a way of playing. We wanted to be different from everybody else."
- **Source**: [Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/mlb/playoffs/brewers-world-series-pat-murphy-oldschool-dodgers-sweep)

### 3. Shohei Ohtani's Postseason OPS Just .631, Closing Out His Worst October Ever
- **What happened**: After the Dodgers were swept by the Brewers, Shohei Ohtani finished the postseason with an OPS of just .631, far below his career average of .948. In Game 4, he didn't record his lone hit of the game until the 8th inning. He played through the entire postseason while nursing injuries to his right biceps and left knee.
- **Why it matters**: Fans had hoped Ohtani would explode in the postseason, but instead he turned in the worst stretch of his career at the plate, making the Dodgers' early exit sting even more. According to Bleacher Report, Ohtani admitted after the game: "The Brewers were really good. They exposed every weakness I had."
- **Source**: [Bleacher Report](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25511957-shohei-ohtanis-final-box-score-stats-dodgers-2026-mlb-playoff-run-after-nlcs-loss-brewers)

### 4. Guardians Rookie's Walk-Off Homer Flips the Script, Then ALCS Hits First Rain Delay in Seven Years
- **What happened**: In Game 3 of the ALCS, the Rays had taken a 2-1 lead on Chandler Simpson's two-run triple, but Guardians rookie Petey Halpin answered with a two-run homer to right-center in the bottom of the 5th to flip the game, and Cleveland held on to win 3-2, taking a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 was then postponed by heavy rain, the first ALCS rain delay since the Yankees hosted the Astros back in 2019. The schedule has now been compressed, with Game 4 moved to Saturday, Game 5 to Sunday, and a potential Game 6 on Monday.
- **Why it matters**: Halpin's bat flip after his go-ahead homer drew the loudest reaction of the night, and with the schedule thrown into chaos by rain, the team that benefits most is the Brewers, who already clinched the NL pennant and are more than happy to sit back and wait a few extra days.
- **Source**: [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/50191465/petey-halpin-hr-puts-guardians-rays-alcs-game-3), [NBC Sports](https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/alcs-game-4-postponed-by-rain-rays-and-guardians-to-resume-series-saturday)

### 5. NBA GM Survey: Wembanyama's 77% MVP Vote Share Sets a New Record
- **What happened**: The results of the 2026-27 NBA general managers' survey are in. 50% of GMs picked the Spurs to win the championship, with the Thunder second at 43%. Victor Wembanyama is the overwhelming favorite to win his first MVP, drawing 77% of the vote and breaking the record previously held by LeBron James for 17 years. On the question of "who would you pick first if you were building a team today," Wembanyama scored an all-time-high 93%.
- **Why it matters**: Both numbers are survey records, showing that the league's internal consensus on Wembanyama has already surpassed what it once was for LeBron, essentially confirming that GMs agree he is the single most coveted player in the league right now.
- **Source**: [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2026-27-nba-gm-survey-takeaways-victor-wembanyama-mvp-spurs-76ers-knicks/)

### 6. Kawhi's Return Demolishes the Knicks by 50, Then the Knicks Exact a Nail-Biting Revenge Two Days Later
- **What happened**: Kawhi Leonard put on a Raptors jersey for the first time in years, and in his preseason debut played just 17 minutes while going 6-for-12 for a team-high 21 points, adding 5 rebounds and 2 steals, as Toronto crushed the defending champion Knicks 148-98, a 50-point blowout in which New York didn't even start its regular lineup. Two days later, the tables completely turned in the preseason finale: the Knicks beat the Raptors 122-120 at Madison Square Garden, with Tyler Kolek hitting a go-ahead three in the final minute and Jalen Brunson scoring 20 points. Toronto was led by Scottie Barnes with 23 points.
- **Why it matters**: Going from a 50-point beatdown to a 2-point heartbreaker within two days made this preseason matchup surprisingly compelling. The same night, the Rockets also demolished the Thunder 116-89.
- **Source**: [Bleacher Report](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25510105-kawhi-leonard-makes-raptors-preseason-debut-after-clippers-exit-final-box-score-stats-highlights), [NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/starting-5-october-16-2026)

## Closing

The most memorable line from this episode has to be the Brewers' "we wanted to be different from everybody else." Playing old-school baseball, they muscled their way into the World Series, which kicks off October 23 in Milwaukee. Whether their opponent will be the Guardians or the Rays, we'll have to wait for the ALCS to wrap up to find out. Next episode, we'll bring you straight into the World Series action. See you then.

---

## About this article and its author

Originally published on [Mark Ku's Tech Notes](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/sports-weekly/sports-weekly-2026-10-17)

License: [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original

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**[Mark Ku](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku)** — Software engineer

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