Mitchell robs Padres of tying homer as Brewers clinch NLDS - ESPN

SAN DIEGO — Garrett Mitchell tripled and scored the tiebreaking run in the fifth inning before making a pivotal catch on Manny Machado's drive to the wall in the eighth, and the Milwaukee Brewers advanced to the National League Championship Series for the second straight season with a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night, winning their best-of-five division series in four games.

Mitchell also drove in Sal Frelick with Milwaukee's first run as the Brewers snapped their 12-game postseason road losing streak, which dates to 2018, and reached the team's fifth league championship series.

Machado nearly tied Game 4 with a 406-foot drive off reliever Abner Uribe, but Mitchell coolly tracked it down and reached just above the short wall in right-center to keep it in the yard.

Second baseman Brice Turang then ended the eighth with an acrobatic catch of Ty France's tailing popup in foul ground.

After fending off the surging Padres in four tight games decided by a combined five runs, the 103-win Brewers will get an NLCS rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who eliminated Atlanta on Wednesday.

The Dodgers swept Milwaukee last October on the way to their second consecutive World Series title.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a 429-foot homer on an otherwise tepid offensive night for the Padres, who repeatedly tested the majors' best regular-season team before falling short of what would have been their fourth NLCS appearance in team history.

One night after the Padres avoided elimination in Game 3, Milwaukee claimed its first road playoff win since the 2018 NLCS by sticking to its seasonlong formula for success.

While four Brewers pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the defense made nearly every big play, Milwaukee's