For years after retiring as a player, Bob Uecker felt compelled to apologize to the legendary Pitcher of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sandy Koufax, whenever he l? had seen, because of something that happened on July 24, 1965.

Then, playing for most St. Louis Cardinals – in fact, and certainly not for playing them – Uecker hit one of his 14 career games on the formidable Koufax at Dodger Stadium. Needless to say, people were stunned.

"For some reason, I hit Sandy pretty well," said Uecker, who posted an average batting average of 200, if not as a reserve catcher. "Every time I see him, I always apologize because I thought it would keep him out of the Hall of Fame."

Of course, the Brewers radio icon was joking, revealing its derogatory humor in a media session preceding the first game of the NLCS series at Miller Park. One thing was certain at the start of the action on Friday night: the Brewers had no plans to apologize for the home runs against the ace of Clayton Kershaw of Los Angeles, who sometimes been framed by Koufax.

The Brewers treated Kershaw quite brutally by taking a 6-6 decision over the Dodgers for their 12th consecutive victory. And they were not the least bit sorry to have done it.

Whenever Kershaw wins the playoff mound, he recalls his under-record in October: now 8-8, 4.26 points on average in 26 games (21 starts) after this one. This is not exactly the kind of work you expect from one of the best pitchers of this era.

Despite this record, the Brewers expected to have their hands full with Kershaw and all the starting rotation of Los Angeles. In analyzing the teams before the series, many have projected that the series would be summarized to the starters of the Dodgers against the main marker of Milwaukee.

But Kershaw came back small, again, without the help of the Bad News Bears defense who plays behind him. Yasmani Grandal, in particular, might want to try a new glove after compiling Yahtzee from the catcher: two balls past, receiver interference and an error.

Kershaw has never recorded an exit in the fourth inning. He was eliminated after a two-point single by Domingo Santana, who put the Brewers at the top, 4-1, thus raising the decibel level inside the dome.

Both teams signed up at the end of the season, but none of the four finalists was hotter than the Brewers. They have not lost since Trevor Williams of Pittsburgh eliminated them 3-0 at PNC Park on September 22, almost three weeks earlier.

This series of victories put a different pressure on the Brewers. Continuing a tradition that goes back several decades, the local restaurant chain George Webb has promised to give hamburgers to all its customers if the winning streak extended to 12 games.

"Who knew we would go so far and that the most important stress of this match would be George Webb's hamburgers?" Said manager Craig Counsell before the game.

George Webb had to pay that promise for the first time in Brewers history – in 1987, when the team recorded a 13-0 record to open the season. Shortly after, the Brewers lost 12 straight games, but the restaurant did not ask the burgers to come back.

Counsell, whose father, John, was working in the Brewers' office in the 1980s, was in the stands of the County Stadium on Easter Sunday when the local team scored three points in the ninth against Texas and won the victory n ° 12..

"I remember the concept of free hamburgers that goes back so long that it's hard to believe that this has never happened since," Counsell said. "It's something everyone can talk about. I mean, free burgers are free hamburgers. I know you'll all be here.

Now, after local citizens have had to pay unfairly for hamburgers for 31 years, they will be free again. Ladies and gentlemen, start your condiments. Somewhere, Wimpy is crying.

It certainly did not look promising when Manny Machado, the player who moved away from the Brewers on the trade deadline, dominated the second round of the Brewers' initial kick, Gio Gonzalez. But the Brewers have seen a lot of magic since St. Louis pioneer Adolis Garcia stumbled and fell to third at Busch Stadium on Sept. 26, allowing Milwaukee to take off with a 2-1 victory. earned a playoff spot.

The turn of fortune came this time from the Brewers rookie, Brandon Woodruff, who came in to replace Gonzalez and immediately made an impact – with his bat. Woodruff crushed a point in the third inning over Kershaw to tie the game, becoming the fourth pitcher in history to take the best on the Dodgers' ace.

How crazy was this development? Woodruff became the first Brewers pitcher to hit a playoff circuit and the third pitcher to do so, joining Rosy Ryan of the New York Giant in the 1924 World Series and Travis Wood of the Cubs in the 2016 NHLDS.

These are the kinds of things you can not invent. The Brewers had the chance to start early by sending Uecker the first ceremonial pitch, with Counsell in the lead.

"I was going to take a Percocet and throw it in the upper deck," Mr. Baseball said. "It would have been good. It would have been nice to laugh. "

But totally useless. Thanks to the last game of their team, Brewers fans do not feel any pain.

And they are about to eat a bunch of free burgers.