Milwaukee opened the League Championship Series by doing the one thing it had not managed against Los Angeles a year ago: win a game. The Brewers’ 2-1 Game 1 decision gave American Family Field another October night to hold onto, but Monday brings no time to admire it. Yoshinobu Yamamoto takes the ball for the Dodgers in a Game 2 that can either level the NLCS or put Milwaukee in command, before Cleveland and Tampa Bay open the ALCS at Tropicana Field.
Monday’s League Championship Series slate
| Game | Starting pitchers | First pitch | Television |
|---|---|---|---|
| NLCS Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers | Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers vs. Logan Henderson, Brewers | 5 p.m. ET | FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes, FOX One |
| ALCS Game 1: Guardians at Rays | Foster Griffin, Guardians vs. Drew Rasmussen, Rays | 8 p.m. ET | TBS, truTV, UniMas, HBO Max |
Yamamoto faces a familiar Milwaukee stage
Los Angeles is not accustomed to beginning a postseason series in a 1-0 hole. The Dodgers have not trailed by two games in a playoff matchup since the 2023 NLDS against Arizona, the most recent postseason series they lost.
- Milwaukee captured Sunday’s opener, 2-1, behind a night of timely offense, a key home run, sound work from its starter and a bullpen that finished the job.
- The Dodgers had hoped to seize momentum with Tarik Skubal pitching in Game 1, particularly after Milwaukee received only 4 1/3 innings from Jacob Misiorowski.
- Instead, the Brewers handed the ball to their young club and a charged home crowd with a series lead.
- Now Los Angeles turns to Yamamoto, who delivered a standout Game 2 at American Family Field in last year’s NLCS after the Dodgers had already won the opener.
Yamamoto has pitched on bigger October stages, including his celebrated work in last season’s World Series, but this assignment carries its own weight. A dominant outing would settle a Dodgers club that suddenly needs an answer. Milwaukee, meanwhile, has reason to believe the old script does not have to repeat.
Brewers have already changed the conversation
Last year’s NLCS was a four-game Dodgers sweep, and the Brewers scored only four runs in the whole series, one in each game. Sunday’s two-run output may not look imposing in a box score, but it represented a sharp break from that miserable October memory.
The emotional stakes were especially high for a Milwaukee team coming off a 103-win season. Misiorowski started, the building was loud from the opening pitch, and another loss to Los Angeles could have left the franchise carrying familiar October baggage. Instead, the Brewers proved they can beat the Dodgers in the kind of tight game Los Angeles usually owns.
They still need three more victories to reach the World Series. But after being swept a year ago, their first win has changed the feel of the series.
Ramírez arrives in Tampa on a timely surge
Cleveland enters the ALCS four wins from the World Series after claiming the American League Central and the No. 2 seed in the AL bracket. The Guardians have reached this point playing their familiar brand of baseball, yet their run has come during the toughest season José Ramírez has endured in a career that has otherwise made him the face of the franchise.
- Ramírez missed more than a month after surgery on the hamate bone in his left hand.
- Upon returning, he posted a .598 OPS with two homers over 53 games.
- His skid carried into Cleveland’s first two ALDS losses to the White Sox.
- Over the final three games of that series, all Guardians wins, Ramírez drove in 35 percent of Cleveland’s runs.
- He punctuated the comeback with a remarkable home run in the deciding Game 5.
Ramírez has said the wrist will not truly be right until he gets an offseason to recover. For now, Cleveland needs him as he has been in the past week: delivering when the season is on the line. A player who has spent a decade as the club’s superstar, and who seems destined for a statue outside Progressive Field, is chasing the one achievement still absent from his résumé. The franchise’s World Series drought has reached 78 years, and the Guardians will not end it without No. 11 playing a central role.
Rasmussen gives Tampa Bay a formidable Game 1 edge
The Rays counter with Drew Rasmussen, who may have produced the most overwhelming pitching performance of this postseason when he faced the Yankees in ALDS Game 1. He worked eight innings, allowed one hit and struck out 10.
That outing merely extended a season in which Rasmussen has been one of the game’s steadiest starters. He finished the regular season with a 2.67 ERA in 172 innings, a 0.91 WHIP and a 5.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His second half was even stronger: a 9-0 record and 1.86 ERA across 12 starts.
- Past seven starts, including the ALDS: 1.13 ERA.
- WHIP over that stretch: 0.76.
- Opponents’ batting average: .154.
- Innings pitched: 39 2/3.
- Strikeout rate: 28.3 percent.
There are plenty of marquee arms still working in October, from Yamamoto and Misiorowski to Skubal, Gavin Williams and Blake Snell. Rasmussen has forced his way into that group, and Tampa Bay sees him as its biggest advantage as the ALCS begins.
