Level 1 - Absolute Beginner
The Los Angeles Dodgers won their baseball series. They beat the Atlanta Braves. Now the Dodgers go to the next round.
The Milwaukee Brewers also won. They beat the San Diego Padres in four games. Game 4 ended 3 to 1.
Now the Dodgers and the Brewers will play each other. They played last year too. The winner goes to the World Series.
In the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees. The Yankees are out of the playoffs.
- series
- A group of games between two teams.
- playoffs
- Games after the season to find the best team.
- round
- One part of a contest.
- win
- To finish first.
- team
- A group that plays together.
- game
- One match.
- baseball
- A sport with a bat and a ball.
- next
- Coming after this one.
Level 2 - Elementary
Two National League series ended on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves three games to one. They now go to the National League Championship Series for the third year in a row.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3 to 1 in Game 4 to win their series three games to one. Garrett Mitchell hit a triple and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Jackson Chourio had the key hit.
Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a long home run, but the rest of his team could not score. It was the Brewers' first road playoff win since 2018.
The next series is a rematch. The Dodgers and the Brewers met in the same round last year. In the American League, the Rays swept the Yankees, so New York is out.
- championship
- A contest to decide the best team.
- inning
- One part of a baseball game.
- triple
- A hit that lets the batter reach third base.
- go-ahead run
- A run that puts a team in front.
- rematch
- A second game or series between the same teams.
- sweep
- To win all the games in a series.
- star
- A very good player.
- road
- Played at the other team's park.
Level 3 - Intermediate
Wednesday settled the National League bracket. The Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the Atlanta Braves three games to one, advancing to the NL Championship Series for the third consecutive year, while the Milwaukee Brewers closed out the San Diego Padres with a 3 to 1 victory in Game 4.
Milwaukee's decisive moment came in the fifth inning, when Garrett Mitchell tripled and scored the go-ahead run, and Jackson Chourio drove in the run that proved to be the winner with a single. Mitchell later made a key catch in the eighth on a drive by Manny Machado. Fernando Tatis Jr. launched a 429-foot homer for San Diego, but the Padres' offense otherwise went quiet. It was Milwaukee's first road playoff victory since the 2018 NLCS.
The result sets up a rematch of last year's NLCS between two of the league's best teams, with the Dodgers hoping to keep their run toward another title alive and the Brewers, who have now reached the round in consecutive seasons, looking to prove they belong.
In the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees with a 4 to 3 win, ending New York's season. In that very game, a fan interference ruling turned Anthony Volpe's apparent game-tying home run into a double, a call that stayed in the headlines all week.
- eliminate
- To knock a team out of a competition.
- consecutive
- Following one after another.
- decisive
- Settling the result.
- bracket
- A chart showing how a tournament is organized.
- offense
- The part of a team that tries to score.
- rematch
- A second meeting between the same opponents.
- sweep
- A series won without losing a game.
- interference
- Improper contact that affects play.
Level 4 - Advanced
The National League Championship Series will be a rematch. The Los Angeles Dodgers dispatched the Atlanta Braves in four games to reach the round for a third straight autumn, and the Milwaukee Brewers shut the door on the San Diego Padres with a 3 to 1 win in Game 4, extending their own streak of consecutive NLCS appearances.
The Brewers' clincher turned on small, precise moments. Garrett Mitchell tripled and then scored the go-ahead run in the fifth, Jackson Chourio drove in the run that held up with a single, and Mitchell later ran down a Manny Machado drive in the eighth to preserve the lead. Fernando Tatis Jr. supplied the only real thunder with a 429-foot homer, but San Diego's lineup went otherwise silent. For Milwaukee it was a first road playoff win since the 2018 NLCS, an unwelcome trend finally reversed.
The pairing carries a clear narrative. The Dodgers, with the largest payroll in the sport, are chasing another championship, while Milwaukee, a small-market club built on pitching depth and opportunistic offense, has now toppled a series of better-funded opponents. Last year's meeting is certain to be mentioned often.
The American side of the bracket has already lost a marquee name. The Tampa Bay Rays swept the New York Yankees with a 4 to 3 win, closing out a series in which a controversial fan interference call had transformed Anthony Volpe's apparent tying homer into a double, a ruling that will be debated through the winter.
- dispatch
- To defeat quickly and efficiently.
- clincher
- A game that decides a series.
- preserve
- To keep something safe or intact.
- lineup
- The batters in the order they play.
- payroll
- The total amount a team pays its players.
- opportunistic
- Taking advantage of chances as they appear.
- topple
- To defeat a stronger opponent.
- marquee
- Famous and attracting great attention.
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