“So we meet again, Buzz Lightyear … for the last time!”
For the fourth time in nine seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers will meet in the National League playoffs, as the top-seeded Brewers (103-59) defeated the San Diego Padres in the NL Division Series and the second-seeded Dodgers (100-62) defeated Atlanta of the NL.
But the Dodgers have come out on top in each of these two teams’ playoff meetings (2018 NLCS, 2020 wild-card round and 2025 NLCS), including a four-game sweep of the Brewers in last year’s NLCS.
How do the Brewers flip the script? FOX Sports MLB analyst Eric Karros has the answers.
“They come to play every day. They grind; they don’t give anything away. Offensively, I don’t know if it’s necessarily the hitting part as much as controlling the strike zone, and that means don’t extend, don’t chase pitches out of the zone, take your walks, be patient and just wear out this look of the Dodgers’ pitching staff about carts.” Thursday’s edition of “The Herd.”
While they eventually advanced to the NLCS on Wednesday night, the Brewers scored just 13 runs in their four games against the Padres in the NLDS. Last year, the Brewers scored just four runs against the Dodgers in the 2025 NLCS en route to being swept despite being third in MLB in both runs and hits in the regular season.
In the 2026 regular season, Milwaukee was first in the sport in hits (1,422) and on-base percentage (.341), tied for first in batting average (.258), second overall in runs (832) and 10th in slugging percentage (.403). Surprisingly, though, the Brewers were tied for 28th in home runs (154).
Second baseman Brice Turang has been the star of the show for Milwaukee this season, posting 23 defensive runs saved at the middle infield position, driving in a team-high 100 runs and posting 7.3 wins over replacement, which was third among MLB position players.
Elsewhere, first baseman Jake Bauers scored a team-high 26 runs while driving in 86 runs and had a .484 slugging percentage; Left fielder Jackson Chourio totaled 25 home runs, 75 RBI, 23 stolen bases and 4.9 wins above replacement in 127 games while posting a .291/.351/.487 slash line; Chourio hit a two-run single in a 2-2 count with two outs in Game 2 of the NLDS; William Contreras drove in 94 runs in the regular season, which led MLB catchers, and hit two home runs in the NLDS.
All that said, as productive as Milwaukee’s bats have been, pitching remains the backbone of its operation.
The Brewers starting rotation was second in MLB in opponent batting average (.220), third overall in strikeouts (907), tied for third in WHIP (1.14) and fifth overall in ERA (3.61). Ace Jacob Misiorowski posted a 1.80 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP, a 232+ ERA and 252 strikeouts, which were all NL-bests, over 30 starts; fellow righty Logan Henderson recorded a 2.47 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP and 110 strikeouts in 18 starts. Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s bullpen was third in ERA (3.40) and opponent average (.223) and tied for fifth in WHIP (1.23).
Of course, the Brewers are facing a powerful Dodgers team that is among the top teams, if not the top of the mountain in terms of depth.
With the bats, Los Angeles, which features the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Andy Pages and Kyle Tucker, among many others, was second in the regular season in hitting percentage (.424), third in batting average (.257) and fourth in on-base percentage (.338) and fourth (.338) (1,399). The Dodgers also had the fourth-fewest strikeouts in the sport (1,267).
On the starting front, the Dodgers were second in ERA (3.43) and opponent batting average (.220), tied for third in WHIP (1.14) and fourth overall in strikeouts (904).
Los Angeles, which already featured 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and right-hander Tyler Glasnow, acquired American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers at the MLB trade deadline. Ohtani hasn’t played since July 3 because of knee inflammation, but he has remained the Dodgers’ starter.
“From a pitching standpoint, they have Misiorowski, who is as good as anybody and actually dominates lefties. He’s much better against left-handed hitting (.114 opponents’ average) than he is against righties (.209 opponents’ average). The Dodgers are very left-handed heavy. “They also have Logan Henderson. At the end of the day, this series is going to come down to the Brewers’ pitching and pitching against the Dodgers’ pitching depth position and what (Dodgers manager) Dave Roberts creates.”
Milwaukee went 4-3 against Los Angeles in the regular season, with both teams winning a series in their opponent’s home ballpark. Game 1 of the 2026 NLCS is Sunday night, with the entire series airing on the FOX networks.
“I’m looking forward to the series as a fan. I think it’s going to be a great series,” Karros said.
