Milwaukee has pushed the defending champions to the rail. The Brewers arrive at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night with a 3-0 National League Championship Series lead, one victory from their first World Series trip in 44 years. Los Angeles, winner of the past two World Series, now needs to find the kind of October escape that almost never happens.
Game 4 is set for 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT and 5 p.m. PT at Dodger Stadium, with FS1 carrying the national broadcast. FOX Deportes and FOX One will also air the game. In the United States, authenticated participating pay-TV customers can stream postseason games through MLB.TV; international live access is available outside Canada. Sportsnet holds Canada’s English-language postseason rights, while RDS carries the NL postseason in French.
A historic hole, and a long wait in Milwaukee
In best-of-seven postseason history, clubs that have seized a 3-0 advantage have finished the job in 41 of 42 series. Thirty-two of those matchups ended in four games. Just two teams have managed to extend a 3-0 deficit to a Game 7, and only the 2004 Red Sox, against the Yankees in the ALCS, completed the comeback.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was on that Boston club, and he has not dismissed the possibility of another impossible-looking turnaround.
“It can be done,” Roberts said. “I’ve been through it. Our players have been tested before. This is an elimination game, and we’ve had plenty of them. We need to win one.”
The Brewers are trying to close a loop from last October. Los Angeles swept Milwaukee in this same round a year ago. If the Brewers deliver a sweep this time, they would be the first club to get swept out of one postseason and then sweep that same opponent in any playoff series the following year.
Jackson Chourio, whose Game 3 leadoff homer helped put Milwaukee here, said there is no room for celebration yet.
“We haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Chourio said through an interpreter. “Our work is not done. We have to bring the same mindset: win.”
- Milwaukee was swept by the Dodgers in the 2025 NLCS.
- The Brewers answered with three straight wins to open this year’s rematch.
- A Game 4 victory would send Milwaukee to its first World Series since 1982.
- It would also place the Brewers among the rare teams to sweep a reigning World Series champion in a best-of-seven series.
This is the sixth occasion on which a team has built a 3-0 lead over the reigning champions in a best-of-seven postseason matchup. Four of the preceding five ended in sweeps: the 1914 Boston Braves over the Philadelphia Athletics, the 1963 Dodgers over the Yankees, the 1966 Orioles over the Dodgers and the 1990 Reds over the Athletics. The lone exception was the 2017 NLCS, when the Dodgers beat the Cubs in five games.
Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio has noted the coincidence in the numbers. It has been 44 years since the club last reached the World Series, while No. 44 is retired in honor of Hank Aaron. This season also marks 50 years since Aaron hit his 755th and final big league home run as a Brewer in 1976.
Glasnow gets the ball as Brewers keep their choice quiet
The Dodgers will hand the ball to right-hander Tyler Glasnow, while Milwaukee had not announced its starter after Game 3. Brewers manager Pat Murphy was asked who would pitch Thursday and offered a short answer: “There will be pitching.”
| Club | Game 4 starter | Key postseason note |
|---|---|---|
| Brewers | To be determined | Milwaukee pitchers own a 1.74 ERA, best among the 12 postseason clubs. |
| Dodgers | Tyler Glasnow, RHP | Glasnow has a 3.60 ERA in three career elimination-game appearances. |
Milwaukee has several rested arms available for what could function as a bullpen game. Left-handers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, along with right-hander Chad Patrick, have been on both the NLDS and NLCS rosters without appearing in any of the Brewers’ first seven playoff games. Dustin May, acquired during the season after beginning his career with the Dodgers and winning a 2020 World Series ring in Los Angeles, threw one inning in Game 2. He also remains a possible option.
Glasnow has been a steady October presence for Los Angeles. Across four starts and three relief outings, he has allowed five earned runs in 26 innings for a 1.73 ERA. The Dodgers are 7-0 in postseason games in which he has appeared, a record that may be more oddity than trend but still follows strong work from the right-hander.
His last outing came in Game 4 of the NLDS against Atlanta, when command wavered and he walked five. Still, Glasnow allowed only one run over 4 2/3 innings and kept the Dodgers in the game.
Lineup pressure and late-inning relief
The Brewers’ likely alignment against a right-handed starter resembles the group that faced Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2. That lineup produced just the second postseason game in Milwaukee history in which five players recorded at least two hits.
| Brewers | Position | Dodgers | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Chourio | LF | Mookie Betts | SS |
| Brice Turang | 2B | Freddie Freeman | 1B |
| William Contreras | C | Teoscar Hernández | LF |
| Jake Bauers | 1B | Kyle Tucker | RF |
| Christian Yelich | DH | Will Smith | C |
| Garrett Mitchell | CF | Shohei Ohtani | DH |
| Cooper Pratt | SS | Andy Pages | CF |
| Sal Frelick | RF | Max Muncy | 3B |
| David Hamilton | 3B | Miguel Rojas | 2B |
Los Angeles has continued to play Shohei Ohtani despite lingering discomfort in his right biceps and left knee. Ohtani and Will Smith have both moved down the order recently amid extended slumps, though each was part of the Dodgers’ only scoring push in Game 3. Ohtani delivered a single at 113.5 mph, and Smith followed with a two-run double.
Kyle Tucker has been the most consistent Dodgers hitter through seven postseason games, carrying a .304 average. The rest of the lineup has had a harder time breaking through against Milwaukee pitching.
Chourio’s .642 postseason OPS does not fully capture his influence. His Game 3 homer was his second of this postseason and the sixth of his career, moving him past William Contreras for the Brewers’ all-time postseason lead. Three of those six homers have come to open a postseason game, tying Chourio with Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins and Ohtani for second on the all-time list. Kyle Schwarber leads with five.
Chourio also has 18 career postseason RBIs, more than any player had before turning 23, breaking the mark he had shared with Hall of Famer Andruw Jones. Contreras reached another Milwaukee milestone in the eighth inning of Game 3, becoming the first Brewer with 10 hits in one postseason.
Milwaukee’s bullpen carries some workload questions into Thursday. Setup man Abner Uribe, who has appeared in all seven playoff games, walked three in the sixth inning of Game 3 before Smith’s double brought Los Angeles back into the game. DL Hall entered to halt the rally and recorded seven critical outs. Trevor Megill then worked four outs for the save.
With Hall and Megill carrying that burden, left-hander Aaron Ashby could take on an important role if Game 4 stays close.
The Dodgers will treat the night as a full-roster emergency. Justin Wrobleski may be the exception after throwing 32 pitches over the final 1 2/3 innings in Game 3. Roberts said closer Edwin Díaz, the only Los Angeles reliever yet to appear in the series, will pitch in Game 4.
Health notes and Dodger Stadium ceremonies
Milwaukee reported no injury concerns. The Dodgers continue to manage Ohtani’s biceps and knee issues, along with Freddie Freeman’s right knee problem. Will Klein, dealing with right elbow discomfort, has faced hitters but has not appeared in a game since July 31 and is considered a depth possibility. Blake Treinen, sidelined by right shoulder inflammation, is not expected to pitch again this postseason.
Before the first pitch, former Dodgers standouts Orel Hershiser and Mike Scioscia will take part in the ceremonial opening. The two will throw out first pitches and deliver the familiar call: “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”
