The Milwaukee Brewers are preparing to challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers as they meet once again in the National League Championship Series, aiming to prevent the Dodgers from securing a three-peat World Series title. This marks the second consecutive year the two teams face each other at this stage of the postseason.
Despite a significant payroll disparity—Milwaukee operates with a $154 million budget, compared to Los Angeles’s $432 million—the Brewers have maintained confidence in their ability to overcome the favored Dodgers. "Absolutely not," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked if the Brewers were underdogs. He highlighted Milwaukee’s strong regular-season performance, noting their 103 wins and home-field advantage as evidence of their prowess. "They have that for a reason. They’ve got home field advantage. We’ve got to be ready to play our best baseball. They are certainly not afraid of us," Roberts added.
The Dodgers swept the Brewers in the NLCS last year, but Milwaukee’s continued success during the regular season has bolstered their belief that they can reverse that outcome. Brewers manager Pat Murphy pointed to improvements since their last encounter, expressing confidence that his team is better prepared this time around. A key milestone for the Brewers was breaking a 12-game post-season road losing streak with a clinching victory over the San Diego Padres, which Murphy cited as evidence that Milwaukee has evolved beyond a regular-season powerhouse struggling to perform under playoff pressure. "I think we’re proving that, no, we still can win in the postseason because good baseball is good baseball," he said.
Roberts acknowledged the Brewers’ approach differs from the Dodgers’ power-hitting lineup but stressed it doesn’t lessen their threat. The Dodgers, winners of 100 games this season, will begin the NLCS on Monday at Milwaukee’s home field. The Brewers will start 24-year-old pitcher Jacob Misiorowski, known for a fastball that topped 104.8 mph and an average speed of 101.2 mph during the NLDS. Misiorowski is part of Milwaukee’s strong pitching staff that limited the Padres to just 10 runs in their series.
Los Angeles will counter with two-time Cy Young Award-winner Tarik Skubal on the mound. Their lineup features significant offensive power, including Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, and Kyle Tucker. Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers’ star player, has struggled at times at the plate due to nagging injuries but remains a key component of their attack. The Dodgers pitching rotation also boasts Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last year’s World Series MVP, and fellow two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell.
As both teams prepare to clash, the NLCS promises a compelling competition between Milwaukee’s rising talent and Los Angeles’s established stars.