The Brewers host the opening game of the best-of-seven series on Sunday, 11 October, after eliminating the San Diego Padres 3–1 in the National League Division Series. The Dodgers secured their place by defeating the Atlanta Braves by the same series score.
Brewers eager to rewrite last year’s story
Milwaukee have unfinished business against Los Angeles after being swept in four games in last year’s NLCS. The Brewers struggled to produce enough offence during that series, scoring just four runs across the four matches.
Manager Pat Murphy believes his side have developed since that disappointing exit and are better prepared for another meeting with the reigning champions.
Milwaukee also ended a 12-game postseason road losing streak with their series-clinching victory over San Diego, providing an additional boost ahead of the rematch.
Chourio and Mitchell lead Brewers’ postseason charge
The Brewers enter the series with confidence after overcoming the Padres in four games.
Jackson Chourio delivered the decisive RBI single in Game 4, while Garrett Mitchell produced one of the defining moments of the series by leaping over the centre-field wall to rob Manny Machado of a potential game-tying home run in the eighth inning.
Mitchell also contributed two hits, an RBI and a run, while reliever Aaron Ashby delivered three scoreless innings to help Milwaukee secure the 3–1 victory.
Christian Yelich and the rest of Milwaukee’s offence will need to maintain that production against a Dodgers pitching staff capable of limiting scoring opportunities.
Dodgers’ star power presents major challenge
Los Angeles remain a formidable opponent, boasting an experienced roster with significant postseason pedigree.
Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández provide the Dodgers with considerable offensive firepower, while their pitching rotation includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell.
The Dodgers swept Milwaukee in last year’s NLCS and will now attempt to continue their pursuit of a third consecutive World Series championship.
However, Milwaukee will take encouragement from its competitive regular-season meetings with Los Angeles in 2026, having won four of their seven encounters.
NLCS schedule and road to the World Series
The series begins in Milwaukee, with the Brewers holding home-field advantage. Games 1 and 2 are scheduled for 11 and 12 October before the teams move to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 on 14 and 15 October.
If necessary, Game 5 will take place in Los Angeles on 16 October, before the series returns to Milwaukee for Games 6 and 7 on 18 and 19 October.
The first team to win four games will advance to the World Series.
For Milwaukee, the challenge is to turn regular-season consistency into postseason success. For Los Angeles, the objective is to maintain their championship momentum. Their latest meeting promises another demanding contest between two clubs with ambitions of reaching baseball’s biggest stage.