American Family Field gets the first pitch of a National League Championship Series that has been waiting in the wings all season: Milwaukee’s 103-win club against a 100-win Dodgers team still chasing a third straight World Series crown. It is also a return engagement from last October, when Los Angeles swept the Brewers, and from the seven-game NLCS the Dodgers won in 2018.
Game 1 is set for Sunday in Milwaukee, with the start time still to be announced. FOX or FS1 will carry the game nationally, with FOX Deportes and FOX One also part of the viewing options. MLB.TV will stream the postseason in the United States for viewers authenticated through a participating pay-TV provider, while international availability excludes Canada. Sportsnet holds Canada’s English-language postseason rights; TVA Sports will air the AL postseason and World Series in French, while RDS will carry the NL postseason in French.
The Brewers have reached the League Championship Series five times in franchise history, and this is their third straight appearance against the Dodgers at this stage. Milwaukee’s hitters were overpowered by Los Angeles’ front-line starters in last year’s four-game defeat, but Christian Yelich said the club is not interested in carrying that baggage into a new series. The Brewers’ designated hitter acknowledged the Dodgers’ championship pedigree, then pointed to Milwaukee’s own formula: clean baseball, execution and the willingness to keep pressing for nine innings.
“We respect them a great deal,” Yelich said, “but we believe we can match up with anyone if we play our style. If we execute and play clean, we are difficult to beat. We’ll go out there and compete.”
Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández offered the other side of the October equation. Past postseason results, he said, do not transfer automatically into a new year. Each game brings a fresh opportunity to change the story.
A premier pitching matchup takes shape
Los Angeles had not formally named its Game 1 starter, though left-hander Tarik Skubal is the likely choice. Skubal owns a 1.97 ERA over seven career postseason starts, and the Dodgers acquired him from Detroit before the Trade Deadline for this kind of assignment. He opened the Division Series against Atlanta with six innings of one-run work and seven strikeouts.
Milwaukee is lined up behind right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, whose regular season was as dominant as any in the league. He led MLB with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts, a 0.80 WHIP and a .157 opponents’ batting average. His first pitch in the Brewers’ Division Series opener against San Diego registered 104.8 mph, the fastest postseason pitch recorded in the tracking era that began in 2008. The Padres, however, made him labor through 30 foul balls over the first four innings, pushing him to 88 pitches before he exited in the fifth.
Misiorowski was available in relief for Game 4 in San Diego and warmed in the ninth without being needed, leaving him rested for this turn. He has handled the Dodgers well in three career appearances—two regular-season starts and a relief outing in last year’s NLCS—posting a 1.59 ERA with 27 strikeouts and only three walks across 17 innings.
Los Angeles may adjust its batting order once the starter is confirmed, particularly with manager Dave Roberts able to work platoon advantages. A recent projected alignment has Mookie Betts at shortstop, Freddie Freeman at first, Will Smith catching and Shohei Ohtani serving as designated hitter. Teoscar Hernández would be in left field, with Kiké Hernández at third, Kyle Tucker in right, Andy Pages in center and Tommy Edman at second.
Ohtani has been moved down the order while a late-season slump has followed him into October. Freeman, Max Muncy and Tucker have supplied steadier production so far: Freeman is batting .267 with two homers, Muncy has three home runs while hitting .250, and Tucker owns a .333 average. Smith has started 1-for-16, good for a .063 average, while Ohtani is at .154.
Milwaukee’s possible Game 1 lineup against a left-handed starter mirrors the group it used against Robbie Ray in the Division Series opener: Jackson Chourio in left, Brice Turang at second, William Contreras behind the plate, Jake Bauers at first, Yelich at DH, Cooper Pratt at shortstop, Luis Lara in right, Garrett Mitchell in center and Joey Ortiz at third.
The Brewers do not depend on the long ball, but they are capable of it. Their regular-season offense led the Majors with a .258 team average and a .341 on-base percentage, while finishing fifth with 152 steals and second with 32 bunt hits. Milwaukee also had baseball’s lowest swing rate and lowest chase rate, an approach that helped it rally from behind in two of its three Division Series wins over San Diego.
Contreras has carried that approach into October. After leading the Majors with 24 RBIs in September and posting a .933 OPS from Sept. 9 through the end of the regular season, he hit .375/.444/.750 with two home runs against the Padres. Turang is the Brewer looking to regain his late-summer rhythm. He led the Majors in September with a .361 average and .475 on-base percentage, with a 1.077 OPS that ranked among the sport’s 10 best, but went 2-for-16 in the Division Series.
The bullpen picture could decide an extended series. Milwaukee’s relievers worked 19 innings in four games against San Diego and permitted a 0.47 ERA with opponents hitting .169. Left-hander Aaron Ashby, right-hander Abner Uribe and closer Trevor Megill form the late-inning backbone. Uribe appeared in every Division Series game, while Ashby and Megill each pitched three times, so the off days before Game 1 arrive at a useful moment.
For the Dodgers, Edwin Díaz closed the final two Division Series victories and has re-established himself as a ninth-inning option alongside Tanner Scott. Los Angeles carried only eight relievers in the Division Series but could add bullpen coverage for a best-of-seven matchup.
Both clubs enter with health questions. Ohtani is managing right-biceps and left-knee issues, while Freeman is dealing with discomfort in his right knee. Miguel Rojas left Game 3 with lower-back pain and may not be ready at the outset of the NLCS. Will Klein, who has been working back from right-elbow discomfort, has faced hitters but has not appeared in a game since July 31 and is viewed as depth. Blake Treinen, sidelined by right-shoulder inflammation, is not expected to pitch again this postseason.
There is little mystery about the stakes. The Dodgers arrive with October experience and a title defense still alive. The Brewers arrive with the league’s best regular-season record, a rested ace and an offense built to make every inning uncomfortable. Milwaukee has waited a year for another crack at Los Angeles. Sunday gives it the first one.
